Advani, senior BJP leaders attend Ved Prakash Goyal's funeral

Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, Thursday attended the funeral of former union minister Ved Prakash Goyal here.

Goyal, 82, died late Wednesday night at Hinduja Hospital where he was recuperating after a brain surgery a few weeks ago, party leader Kirit Somaiya told IANS.

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His wife Chandrakanta, a former three-time legislator from Mumbai, sons Pradeep and Piyush, daughters Pramila and Pratibha survive him.

Besides Advani, other leaders present at the funeral included Gopinath Munde, Prakash Jawadekar, Shyam Jaju, Raghunath Kulkarni, Vinod Tawade, M.P. Lodha and Shania N.C., Somaiya added.

On Thursday morning, thousands of party workers and citizens paid homage to Goyal. His body was kept at his Matunga home before being consigned to flames at the nearby Sion crematorium.

Goyal was a cabinet minister who handled various portfolios, including shipping, in the former National Democratic Alliance government headed by A.B. Vajpayee.

A chemical engineer from Varanasi, Goyal started his career with the Mukand Iron & Steel Group here before shifting to politics.

An active Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker for decades, Goyal also served as Mumbai BJP president and was elected to the Rajya Sabha for two terms.

Former prime minister Vajpayee enjoyed a personal rapport with Goyal and always made it a point to stay with him during his visits to Mumbai.