Thousands pay homage to Pramod Mahajan

Mumbai, May 4 : A large number of people paid their last respects to BJP leader Pramod Mahajan whose body was brought to his Poorna residence at Worli this morning.

The body was brought to residence at 0815 hrs from the State BJP office at Nariman Point where it had been kept after autopsy at the GT Hospital.

Among the first to pay homage was Pramod Mahajan's inconsolable mother Prabhavati and wife Rekha.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani, RSS chief K Sudarshan, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, his actor son Ritesh, former Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley, former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Raj Thackeray and his family, Anil Ambani and his family, and Hema Malini were among those who paid their homage and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family.

The body was kept in a silver-coloured casket with a glass panel to enable thousands of Mr Mahajan's admirers to catch a last glimpse of their leader. BJP leader and Pramod Mahajan's brother-in-law Gopinath Munde could not control his tears and it was a touching moment when he brought along his grandson to pay obeisance.

Pramod Mahajan's family including his wife Rekha, son Rahul, daughter Poonam, brother Prakash, and son-in-law Anand Rao stood by the side of the casket.

The body will be kept at the Worli residence till 1000hrs and, thereafter, taken to Shivaji Park at Dadar for cremation. The police have made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth movement of the funeral procession.

UNI