Brijbhushan Tiwari passes away,day after taking oath as MP

As the news reached SP headquarters in Lucknow,the party flag was lowered as a mark of respect to the departed soul. Later,at a condolence meeting,which was attended by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav,rich tributes were paid to the leader hailing his ideals for simplicity and dedication to socialist movement.

In his condolence message Mulayam hailed him as great socialist leader who always stood for the rights of the students,farmers and downtrodden. Akhilesh said that despite being a senior leader Tiwari was always available to him.

Tiwari had visited party office two days ago before leaving for New Delhi to take oath for his second stint in Rajya Sabha. “We had a very lively discussion. We congratulated him for his Rajya Sabha membership and he even offered sweets to us,” remembered party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary.

Several other leaders including Bhagwati Singh,ministers Ahmed Hasan,Parasnath Yadav,Dr Madhu Gupta,former MLC Shatrudra Prakash,MLA Ravidas Mehrotra were present at the condolence meeting.

Earlier in the day,Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as mark of respect to Tiwari. Chairman Hamid Ansari said: “In passing away of Shri B B Tiwari,the country has lost a veteran parliamentarian and a noted social worker.” The House observed silence as mark of respect.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,accompanied with senior Congress leaders,visited Samajwadi Party’s Delhi office and laid a wreath on the departed leader’s body.

In his condolence message,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar described Tiwari as a renowned politician and a social activist. He said his death has caused “irreparable loss to politics”.

SP leaders said Tiwari’s body will be taken to his ancestral home in Sidharth Nagar district. The funeral rites will be performed with full state honours. Akhilesh and Mulayam are also expected to attend the last rites.