Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tributes to veteran BJP leader Sunderlal Patwa

BHOPAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid floral tributes to veteran BJP leader and two-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa who passed away in the morning following a heart attack.

After paying tributes to the departed leader at the state BJP office here, the Prime Minister consoled his family members. His nephew Surendra Patwa, who is the Minister for Culture and Tourism in the BJP-led state government, was also present.

Modi spent nearly five minutes with the family members and later left for the airport. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

92-year-old Patwa, a former union minister, suffered a heart attack in the morning and was rushed to hospital where he breathed his last, Executive Director of the hospital Skand Trivedi said.

Patwa's wife had died a few years back and they had no children.

Earlier, in a tweet, Modi said, "Saddened on the passing away of Sunderlal Patwa. He was a hardworking & dedicated leader whose good work as MP CM will be remembered."

Saddened on the passing away of Shri Sunder Lal Patwa. He was a hardworking & dedicated leader whose good work as MP CM will be remembered.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 28, 2016

He said Patwa strengthened BJP and was always admired by workers.

Large number of BJP workers gathered at the party office to pay respects to the former CM.

Patwa's last rites would be held at Kukdeshwar town, the native place of the departed leader, in Neemuch district of the state tomorrow.