Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was cremated on Sunday with full state honours at Nigam Bodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna around 4 pm, NDTV reported. Through the day political leaders paid respects to the three-time Delhi chief minister at her home in South Delhi.
Dikshit died on Saturday following a cardiac arrest at the age of 81. Her body was kept at her home in Nizamuddin and was taken to the Congress headquarters on Sunday afternoon.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj paid tributes to the Congress leader.
“She was a great support for me,” ANI quoted Sonia Gandhi as saying. “She became almost an elder sister and a friend. This is a big loss for the Congress party. I will always remember her.”
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj recalled they “were opponents in politics but friends in personal life”. “She was a fine human being,” Swaraj added.
The Delhi government has declared two days of state mourning, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
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