Last rites of Kamla Advani performed

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The last rites of Kamla Advani, wife of BJP veteran L. K. Advani, were performed here on Thursday.

The funeral ceremony at Nigambodh Ghat here was attended by Advani, their children Jayant and Pratibha, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Anant Kumar and many BJP and RSS leaders.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh counterparts, Parkash Singh Badal, Manohar Lal Khattar and Shivraj Singh Chouhan respectively, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia were also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not attend the last rites as he was in West Bengal for election campaign.

He had on Wednesday described her as a "pillar of strength" to Advani and noted that she also motivated party workers.

Earlier, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Advani's residence to pay his last respects to Kamla Advani, who died on Wednesday at the AIIMS after cardiac arrest. She was 83.

Advani and Kamla were married in 1965 and have two children, Jayant and Pratibha. The couple last year celebrated their 50th marriage anniversary.