For 86-year-old former parliamentarian Sheela Gautam, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was like an elder brother, but as fate would have it, she came all the way from Aligarh today to bid a tearful farewell to him.
"We played Holi together and celebrated Raksha Bandhan and I used to tie him 'rakhi'. It is a personal loss for me," Gautam said.
She was among a galaxy of personalties and public figures who converged at the BJP headquarters here to pay homage to the former prime minister, whose mortal remains were kept there before the cremation.
The former Aligarh MP, who came in a wheelchair at the sprawling building complex, told PTI, "The country has lost a stalwart politician, a statesman, and one of the finest prime ministers India had, but I have lost a brother."
Vajpayee, 93, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here last evening after prolonged illness.
A sea of people flooded the streets in front of the BJP headquarters, where his body was kept from morning till around 2 PM for people to pay respect.
His body was taken in a procession to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where he was accorded a state funeral.
Amid sultry weather conditions, thousands of people walked along the over seven km-long route, with some showering petals at the carriage. Heavy security was deployed along the route of the procession.
The crowd was so massive that the people spilled over barricades and jostled to get a glimpse of the former prime minister.
During the procession, people chanted slogans like "Atal Bihari Amar Rahe" as Vajpayee's cortege made its way from the BJP headquarters to the cremation ground.
Gautam paid floral tributes to Vajpayee and said his death has left her "shocked".
Born in 1931 in Allahabad, she was elected to the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Lok Sabha, according to the Lok Sabha's official website.
The 13th Lok Sabha was in session between 1999 and 2004.
"I was also an MP during his tenure and we used to talk during Parliament sessions," she added.
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