Late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan cremated in Patna

Patna : Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was given a state funeral and has been cremated in Patna's Janardhan Ghat on Saturday afternoon. His son and LJP chief Chirag Paswan performing the last rites.

74-year-old Ram Vilas Paswan had died in Delhi hospital on Thursday after undergoing a heart surgery.

In visuals shared by news agency ANI massive crowds had gathered at the ghat and cremation site as thousands paid their last respects to a veteran political figure, with senior BJP leaders - including Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who also hails from Patna - present.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were also present.

"Ram Vilasji was not just a leader from Bihar... he was a national leader, a people's leader. He was from an ordinary family but became a Lok Sabha MP nine times and Rajya Sabha MP twice. We are extremely pained by his death," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.

"I met his family. He left too soon," he added, describing him as "the voice of the neglected".

Watch Ram Vilas Paswan's last rites below:

Known as one of the great survivors in Indian politics, Mr Paswan was a minister in almost every central government formed since 1989 and served six Prime Ministers, starting with VP Singh. In PM Modi's cabinet, he was in charge of the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution portfolios.