Former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi Cremated In Patna With Full State Honours
Patna bid farewell to one of its political stalwarts, Sushil Kumar Modi, as the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister was laid to rest with full state honours.
The mortal remains of former Bihar deputy chief minister, Sushil Kumar Modi, were brought to Patna on Tuesday for his final rites. Several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) paid last tribute to the leader. The cremation, held at around 5:30 PM, was conducted with full state honour.
#WATCH | Former Bihar Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi's last rites being performed at the Digha Ghat in Patna.
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
State honour being given at the last rites. pic.twitter.com/BTK9Ac2nka
A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said that Modi, who succumbed to renal cancer at the age of 72 on Monday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, will be accorded full state honours during his cremation.
#WATCH | Patna: People pay last respects to former Bihar Deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, at his residence. pic.twitter.com/ZEZTTlyNIt
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
#WATCH | Patna: Bihar Dy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and other BJP leaders pay their last respects to former Bihar Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, at the party office pic.twitter.com/3pmha9vN7z
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
Senior BJP Leaders Pay Tribute To Sushil Modi
BJP president JP Nadda, along with Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, paid tributes to former Bihar Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.
#WATCH | BJP president JP Nadda, along with Bihar Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary & Vijay Sinha, pays tributes to former Bihar Dy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
Sushil Modi passed away at Delhi's AIIMS yesterday. The 72-year-old was battling cancer and was admitted to the intensive care… pic.twitter.com/k0kTOGUfp0
Sushil Kumar Modi, arguably one of the most influential leaders the BJP has produced in Bihar, has played a pivotal role in shaping the party's trajectory in the state.
Born into a Vaishya family in Bihar, Modi actively engaged in student politics while pursuing his BSc at Patna University. He participated in the Bihar movement of 1974 led by socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, forging associations with future collaborators like Nitish Kumar and adversaries like Lalu Yadav.
Modi rose to prominence as one of the key leaders of the ABVP, the RSS's student wing, in Bihar. He often credited his foray into politics to the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
PTI recalled an anecdote shared by Modi, it was at his wedding ceremony in 1986 that Vajpayee, then BJP's head, advised him to transition from student politics to full-time political activism.
His political journey saw him elected for the first time in 1990 from the now-defunct Patna Central Assembly seat. Modi gained recognition for his activism against the alleged corruption in the government led by Lalu Prasad, notably as one of the litigants in the petition that led to the investigation of the infamous fodder scam by the CBI.
Modi's leadership prowess was further evident during his tenure as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar alongside Nitish Kumar. Their alliance and rapport were central to the state's politics for years.