Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid his last respects to Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan at the minister’s residence. Paswan died on Thursday in New Delhi.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Giriraj Singh and BJP President JP Nadda also paid their last respects to the late LJP leader at the latter’s residence in New Delhi. 

Paswan died on Thursday in New Delhi after he had undergone a heart surgery at a Delhi hospital on Sunday. He was the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. 

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The death of the 74-year-old leader from Bihar was announced by his lawmaker son Chirag Paswan, who tweeted, “Papa, you are not with us anymore… but wherever you are, I know you will always be with me… Miss you papa.”

The death of Paswan comes a few days ahead of the Bihar elections and days after his son announced the parting of ways with JD(U), with whom the LJP had been in an alliance, along with the BJP, the past couple of years. Chirag while divorcing the JD(U), continued to be in alliance with BJP at the Centre.

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Paswan was a member of the Rajya Sabha in his current Parliament tenure and had a political career of more than five decades. He was among the country’s most noted Dalit leaders and eight-time Lok Sabha member.