Chirag Paswan thanks PM Modi for the arrangements during the funeral of Ram Vilas Paswan

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making the arrangements for the final rites of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in the banks of the river Ganga. Chirag Paswan's tweet expressing gratitude stated that arrangements of the funeral were done even without the family asking for the same. The LJP chief mentioned that the gesture by the prime minister has given him courage.

"My heartfelt gratitude to respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the help provided during my father's last rites. Sir, you did all the arrangement for the last rites of my father, even without the family asking for it. I am going through a difficult phase as a son. With your presence, I feel motivated and strong," Chirag Paswan tweeted.

"Let your blessings and love be always with me," he added in a subsequent tweet referring to the prime minister.

Ram Vilas Paswan cremated on Saturday

Mortal remains of senior LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan were cremated in Patna on Saturday with full state honours. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were present at the funeral. Paswan, 74, breathed his last at a hospital in New Delhi on Thursday evening and his body was brought to Patna on Friday.

The Lok Janshakti Party founder and Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution was admitted to the private hospital in New Delhi for several weeks and had recently undergone a heart operation.

Taking to Twitter, LJP president and Paswan's son Chirag confirmed that his father passed away at a hospital in the national capital on Thursday. Since the last few weeks, the veteran political leader hailing from Bihar had been hospitalized. He underwent heart surgery on October 4.

The national flag was kept at half-mast in Delhi and capitals of all states and union territories on Friday as a mark of respect to the late Union Minister. 

Ram Vilas Paswan was first elected to the Bihar Assembly in 1969 as a Samyukta Socialist Party candidate. He was one of the prominent politicians who was jailed during the Emergency. From 1977 onwards, he was continuously elected to the Lok Sabha barring for 1984 and 2009. He served as a Union Minister in both UPA as well as NDA regimes. On June 28, 2019, he was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He had served under six prime ministers including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi. He served as a Union Minister in the National Front governments (1989-90 and 1996-98), the Atal Bihar Vajpayee-led NDA government (1999-2002), the UPA government (2004-2009) and the Narendra Modi-led government (2014-2020). 

READ | Ram Vilas Paswan No More: PM Modi, President Kovind Mourn Loss Of A 'true Visionary'

READ | Ram Vilas Paswan No More: RJD Chief Lalu Yadav Mourns; Politicians, Ministers Condole Loss