Pranab Mukherjee cremated with military honours amid precautions

Former President Pranab Mukherjee who passed away here at Armys RampR Hospital during treatment on Monday at the age of 84 was cremated with full military honours on Tuesday afternoon at the Lodhi Road crematorium following a strict Covid19 precautionary protocolHis son Abhijit Mukherjee performed the final rites accompanied by a 21gun military salute Only close family members were allowed to enter the crematorium unlike previous cremation ceremonies of such dignitaries and those handling the mortal remains of Mukherjee wore PPE kitsWATCH Delhi Former President PranabMukherjee laid to rest with full military honours His last rites were performed at Lodhi crematorium today under restrictions for COVID19 pictwittercomVbwzZG1xX9mdash ANI ANI September 1 2020Wearing masks people queue up maintaining 6ft distance to pay tribute to Pranab MukherjeeFollowing Covid19 precautionary protocol President Ram Nath Kovind Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a galaxy of top political leaders who paid floral tributes to the departed soul at his 10 Rajaji Marg residenceLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat were among those who joined the rest of the nation in bidding adieu to the Peoples PresidentFormer Prime Minister Manmohan Singh BJP President JP Nadda Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi Shashi Tharoor Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury CPI General Secretary DRaja Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and many others paid homage to Mukherjee who passed away on Monday evening after weeks in coma following a brain surgeryThe mortal remains of the 13th President were brought to his residence from the Army Research and Referral Hospital around 930 amIn keeping with the military tradition the three service chiefs placed wreaths on Mukherjees body before politicians cutting across party lines paid their floral tributesThe tricolour that was wrapped around Mukherjees body was removed and given to his family for the last rites A man of unparalleled experience in governance Mukherjee had gone into septic shock because of his lung infection and was hospitalised on August 10 in a critical condition The veteran Parliamentarian served as the Union Foreign Defence Commerce and Finance MinisterBorn on December 11 1935 in the small village of Mirati in Birbhum District of West Bengal Mukherjee acquired a Masters degree in History and Political Science as well as a degree in Law from the University of Kolkata Mukherjee then embarked on his professional life as a college teacher and journalistInspired by his fathers contribution to the Independence movement Mukherjee embarked upon fullfledged public life following his election to the Rajya Sabha in 1969 He served as Deputy Minister Industry Shipping and Transport Steel and Industry and Minister of State for Finance during 197375He assumed office as the Finance Minister of India for the first time in 1982 and was Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1985 He became Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 1991 to 1996 concurrently Minister for Commerce from 1993 to 1995 and Minister of ExternalAffairs from 1995 to 1996 Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2006 He again served as the Minister of External Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2012 He was Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2012Mukherjee assumed office as the 13th President of India on July 25 2012 and served his full fiveyear term till 2017 As President Mukherjee lent dignity to the highest office and left an imprint with his scholarly and humanitarian outlook on national and international affairsA prolific reader Mukherjee has authored several books on an eclectic variety of subjects including the Indian economy and nationbuilding The many honours conferred upon him include the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1997 the Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and the Bharat Ratna Indias highest civilian award in 2019The government has announced a sevenday State mourning from August 31 to September 6 as a mark of respect to the leader The tricolour is flying halfmast on all buildings throughout the country There will be no official entertainment during these seven days