Hundreds of people witness last rites of Goa's only woman CM

The last rites of former Goa chief minister Shashikala Kakodkar were performed here today with full state honours.
Kakodkar (81), the only woman Chief Minister of Goa to date, passed away here yesterday following a prolonged illness.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Union AYUSH Minister Sripad Naik, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and several former ministers visited Bandodkar House, Kakodkar's ancestral residence in Altinho area of Panaji today.
Apart from political leaders, thousands of others paid their respects at the Bandodkar House since morning.
Body of the Goa's second chief minister was then taken in a procession to St Inez crematorium.
Politicians cutting across the party lines and who's who of the local business community took part in the procession.

Kakodkar was cremated with full state honours.

She was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Union Territories of Goa, Daman and Diu in 1973 after the death of her father Dayanand Bandodkar, the first Chief Minister of Goa.
The father-daughter duo belonged to Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). Kakodkar was ousted as CM in 1979 following a split within her party.
In the recent years, she was associated with Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), a front which is agitating for making mother tongues the medium of instruction in primary schools.
Kakodkar, during her stint as education minister, was responsible for promoting no-English educational policy with emphasis on regional languages in the government-aided primary schools in Goa.