AHMEDABAD, Dec 30 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Hiraben passed away at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday at the age of 100.
A bulletin from the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, where she was admitted on Wednesday after her health deteriorated, shared the news of her demise.
“Hiraben Modi passed away on 30/12/2022 at 3.30 am during the treatment at U N Mehta Heart Hospital,” the medical bulletin said.
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She is survived by five sons – PM Modi and his brothers Somabhai, Amrutbhai, Prahladbhai and Pankajbhai – and daughter Vasantiben.
Her last rites were performed at a crematorium in Gandhinagar around 9:30 am in the presence of PM Modi, his brothers and other family members.
Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, former chief ministers Vijay Rupani and Shankersinh Vaghela, business tycoon Gautam Adani, writer and religious leader Swami Sachchidanand, Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhari, Rajya Sabha member Jugalji Thakor, former speaker Ramanlal Vora and Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil were present for the cremation ceremony.
Following her death in the early hours, the Prime Minister landed in Ahmedabad from Delhi in the morning and went to the residence of his brother Pankaj Modi at Raysan village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar, where the mortal remains of their mother were kept.
He offered floral tributes to his mother there and bowed down at her feet. Later, PM Modi and his brothers shouldered her mortal remains for some distance before placing them in a mortuary van. He also boarded the mortuary van, which reached a crematorium in Sector 30 in Gandhinagar city to perform the last rites of his mother.
PM Modi and his brothers performed the last rites and lit the funeral pyre of their mother.
A family member told reporters that a condolence meet would be organised a few days later at Modi’s native place Vadnagar.
Notably, PM Modi was scheduled to visit West Bengal on Friday to launch various developmental projects, including a stretch of Kolkata metro and also to flag off the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express.
Since he could not remain present in West Bengal, the PM attended those programmes in West Bengal via video conferencing from Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister tweeted that “a great journey of 100 years” has ended with his mother’s demise.
“A great journey of 100 years has come to an end. I have witnessed three qualities in a mother, a journey like that of a tapasvi (saint), a selfless worker and life dedicated to values,” Modi tweeted.
“When I met her on her 100th birthday she said one thing which I always remember. ‘Kam karo buddhi thi, jivan jivo suddhi thi’ (work using your brain and live life with purity,” he said in the tweet.
PM Modi had visited the hospital to inquire about his mother on Wednesday after learning about her health condition.
After spending over an hour at the medical facility that day, the PM had left for Delhi after doctors informed him that her health was stable. He had also spoken to doctors at the hospital, a government-funded autonomous medical facility.
The Prime Minister regularly visited Raysan and spent time with his mother Hiraben, also called Hiraba, during most of his Gujarat visits.
