Shivraj Singh Chouhan pays last respects to BJP veteran leader Ramdayal Ahirwar

Ramdayal Ahirwar, a six-time MLA, was a prominent Dalit face of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region

SAGAR: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP unit president VD Sharma on Monday paid their last respects to party colleague Ramdayal Ahirwar, 90, who died in Maharajpur, Chhatarpur district on Sunday.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan late on Sunday announced that Ramdayal Ahirwar will be cremated with state honours (X/OfficeofSSC)

“I remember when I had come in 2008, he had made many demands for the development of Maharajpur, which we had accepted. He was a minister, he showed his administrative efficiency by being the minister of state for home and water resources. He was our companion who was simple, gentle and who served everyone,” the chief minister told reporters in Chhatarpur, 300km from state capital Bhopal.

Ahirwar, a six-time MLA, joined the Jan Sangh in 1962 and was a prominent Dalit face of the BJP in the Bundelkhand region.

Chouhan late on Sunday announced that Ahirwar will be cremated with state honours after sharp criticism by his family that senior party leaders didn’t help the veteran leader in the last moments nor extended the basic courtesies.

MP’s BJP unit chief VD Sharma, who accompanied Chouhan to Chhatarpur, said Ahirwar played an important role in strengthening the roots of the party in the region. BJP is saddened by his demise. “His departure is an irreparable loss not only for the region but for the entire state,” he said.