Bhubaneswar, Mar 18: The mortal remains of former Union Minister Dr Debendra Pradhan will be consigned to flames at Swargadwara in Puri.

Top leaders cutting across party lines, including Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, former Minister Bijay Mohapatra, former MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik visited Dr Pradhan's house at Chandrasekharpur and paid their last respects, placing wreaths on the body.

According to the information, people visited the Chandrasekharpur residence throughout the night and paid respects.

Dr Pradhan, who served the nation as a Union Minister and as a doctor and a social worker, passed away in Delhi yesterday at the age of 84. The body was brought to Bhubaneswar in the evening. A guard of honour was accorded to Dr Pradhan at the airport.

The body was then taken to a grand procession to the BJP State office where BJP workers and leaders paid their last respect. Dr Pradhan was a towering personality. He was a doctor and a social worker. He joined BJP in the early eighties and became a minister twice from 1998 to 2001 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee governments.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP National President JP Nadda, among many leaders, condoled Dr Pradhan's demise. They remembered his contributions to building the nation and strengthening the BJP at the state and national levels.

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