Daughter Bansuri performs last rites of Sushma Swaraj

Bansuri Swaraj, daughter, and Swaraj Kaushal, husband, of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, pay tribute to the mortal remains of the latter before being taken for her last rites, in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

New Delhi: Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri couldn't hold back her tears as she performed the last rites of her mother Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday. Surrounded by a sea of mourners, Swaraj's husband Kaushal Swaraj and daughter saluted the mortal remains, wrapped in a tricolour, as they were kept on a hearse decorated with flowers at the BJP office on DDU Marg, before its final journey to Lodhi Road crematorium. The body of the former minister was kept at the BJP headquarters for a few hours for people to pay their last respects.

At the crematorium, Swaraj's body was kept on a platform where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other senior leaders and people from different walks of life converged to pay homage to her. As part of the rituals, a distraught Bansuri carried a 'matka' filed with water and circumambulated the platform before breaking the earthen pitcher by smashing it on the ground. Kaushal accompanied his sobbing daughter as she moved around the platform while performing the ritual. The prime minister was also seen comforting Kaushal and Bansuri. Bansuri is an Oxford University graduate and like her father, she practices at the Supreme Court. A sea of mourners had gathered at the Lodhi Road crematorium in New Delhi where Sushma Swaraj was cremated with full state honours.

Swaraj, one of India's most high-profile woman politicians, who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India's diplomacy, died at AIIMS in New Delhi on late Tuesday night, plunging the nation in a state of grief. The mortal remains of the former external affairs minister were cremated in an electric crematorium as senior leaders, besides family, friends and admirers bid a tearful adieu.

Watch full video: Sushma Swaraj cremated with full state honours: Narendra Modi, top leaders pay last respects

As BJP president Amit Shah and working president J P Nadda, covered Swaraj's body with the national flag and paid their tributes at the BJP headquarters, some cried inconsolably and others fought back tears as senior party leaders.

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