Shivraj Patil’s last rites held with State honours in Latur

The last rites of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil were performed with full state honours in his home district, Latur, in Maharashtra on Saturday, with many top leaders in attendance.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, and Karnataka Minister Eshwar



Khandre were among those present.

A prominent member of the Lingayat community, Patil was buried in his farm at Varvanti village, six km from Latur, in a seated, meditative posture. This Lingayat ritual stems from their belief that the soul of the deceased immediately unites with Shiva and is not subject to the cycle of rebirth, thus making the cremation rites to release the soul from the body unnecessary.