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Top leaders and common people mingle in paying last respect to Abdul Kalam

by IBNS 28 Jul 2015, 12:55 am

New Delhi, Jul 28 (IBNS) Top political leaders were among a stream of people who paid their last respect to former President APJ Abdul Kalam whose body was kept for few hours at his 10 Rajaji Marg residence in Delhi on Tuesday.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, senior BJP leader LK Advani former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi were among those who paid  floral tributes to "missile man," who died following a massive cardiac arrest in Meghalaya on Monday.

BJP chief Amit Shah, Najma Heptullah, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav also visited Kalam's residence to pay tributes to the scientist-leader.

 Kalam's mortal remains were brought to his residence in a gun carriage. School students lined up the streets as it rolled past carrying the casket in which he was lying, draped in the national tricolour.

Earlier,  Kalam's body was flown in from Guwahati in a special aircraft that touched down the Palam airport shortly after noon.

 President Pranab Mukherjee and  Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped protocol to be present at the airport and  receive his body. Vice President Hamid Ansari was also with them.

Besides them the  chiefs of the Army, Navy and Airforce paid homage to Kalam. .

A tri-service guard of honour and a 21-gun salute was given as a mark of respect to him.

In a rare gesture, former Air Marshal Arjan Singh, 96, also placed a wreath at the base of the coffin. 

The wheelchair-bound former Airforce chief, who was in uniform, used a walking stick to slow-step march to the podium on which the casket was resting and flashed a salute.