Girija Vyas cremated; dignitaries across party lines pay final respects

Dignitaries from across party lines paid their final respects as the mortal remains of former Union Minister Dr Girija Vyas were consigned to flames amid chants of Vedic hymns at Ashok Nagar cremation ground here on Friday afternoon.

Dr Vyas, 78, passed away at a private hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening after battling for her life for a month. She succumbed to burn injuries sustained in an accidental fire at her residence in Udaipur.

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The funeral procession of the four-time Member of Parliament began from her residence in Detya Magri Colony and concluded at the Ashok Nagar cremation ground, where her brother Gopal Sharma and nephew performed the last rites by lighting the pyre.

Earlier, Congress leaders including former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state party president Govind Singh Dotasra, Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully, and former Speaker Dr CP Joshi, along with senior BJP leaders such as sitting MPs CP Joshi and Manna Lal Rawat, former Speaker Shanti Lal Chaplot, and MLA Tara Chand Jain, paid floral tributes to the departed leader.

Wreaths were also laid on Dr Vyas’s body on behalf of Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

In New Delhi, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) also paid tribute to Dr Vyas, who had served the party in various capacities including as All India Mahila Congress President, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee President, and as a two-time MLA and four-term MP.

The CWC observed a two-minute silence prior to its meeting as a mark of respect to the departed leader.