Parliamentarians bid farewell to President Ram Nath Kovind; Cong leader Meira Kumar key attraction

New Delhi, July 23: Parliamentarians bid a fond farewell to President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday evening.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Saturday joined a ceremony at Parliament's Central Hall to bid farewell to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Meira Kumar, who had contested the presidential poll against Ram Nath Kovind in 2017, was a key attraction at the farewell function, with a number of BJP leaders exchanging pleasantries with her.

The presence of Kumar, the daughter of stalwart Dalit leader and former deputy prime minister Babu Jagjivan Ram, at Kovind's farewell function drew the attention of almost everybody present on the occasion.

The function was held at the Central Hall of Parliament, where Kumar attended many events as the Lok Sabha speaker from 2009 to 2014.

Union minister and Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal walked up to the Congress leader and greeted her. After his speech, the president as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly interacted with Kumar, before leaving the venue.

Kumar was sitting with three women ministers of the Modi government -- Niranjan Jyoti, Shobha Karandlaje and Pratima Bhoumik -- while another woman minister, Darshana Jardosh, was seen engaged in an animated conversation with her.

MPs from most of the opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), attended Kovind's farewell function.

However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi, both members of Parliament, were not present on the occasion.

Modi had hosted a dinner in Kovind's honour on Friday. Members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of various states and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The dinner had a good representation from all parts of the country, including many Padma awardees and tribal leaders.