RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh's body donated to AIIMS

Chitrakoot / New Delhi, Feb 28 (ANI): The body of the veteran Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh, who breathed his last on Saturday, was donated to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Sunday.

Deshmukh, 94, had wished that his dead body be donated for medical research.

The body of Deshmukh was flown to Delhi from Chitrakoot and was kept at the RSS headquarters in Jhandelwalan area here.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan brought the body from Chitrakoot.

Leaders and activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar paid their last respects to Deshmukh.

Prominent among those who paid tributes to Deshmukh, were former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Karia Munda, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, former party president Rajnath Singh and General Secretary (organisation) Ramlal.

Chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states-Narendra Modi of Gujarat, Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of Uttarakhand were also among the leaders who paid their last respects to Deshmukh.

A wreath was laid on Nanaji Deshmukh's body on behalf of President Pratibha Patil. He was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan award for his lifetime service to the society in rural parts of the country.

Advani described Deshmukh as a dedicated worker who made an unparalled contribution in the formation of Bharatiya Jan Sangh.

"It is more than a personal loss for me. We had been together for so many years....When there is so much attraction towards posts, he gave inspiration for idealism," Advani said. (ANI)