Kalyan Singh cremated, Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers including Amit Shah attend funeral

The two-time CM, who had also been the Rajasthan Governor, died at a Lucknow hospital on Saturday after spending weeks in the ICU

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh was cremated with full state honours at Banshi Ghat in the state's Bulandshahar district on Monday.

Singh's son and MP Rajveer Singh lit the funeral pyre. Singh had died on Saturday after a protracted illness at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences.

Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and other senior BJP leaders were present on the occasion.

Earlier Singh's body was brought to his native village of Atrauli in Aligarh district to enable the people to pay their respect to the departed soul.

''It's a huge loss to the BJP....he (Kalyan Singh) will remain a source of inspiration for the BJP,'' Shah later said.

Also Read | Row over BJP flag being placed over national flag on Kalyan Singh's mortal remains

Controversy, however, erupted after BJP tweeted a photograph showing the saffron party flag over the Tricolour in which Singh's body had been draped. The photo showed BJP president J P Nadda paying respect to the mortal remains of Singh at the BJP headquarters here on Sunday.

The opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress took strong exception to keep the BJP flag over the Tricolour and termed it 'disrespect' to the national flag.

''BJP has no respect for the Tricolour.....the photograph shows it clearly,'' said a senior SP leader on Monday.

According to the BJP leaders here, Singh had expressed the desire to be draped in the BJP flag after his death. ''Kalyan Singh had said on several occasions that to be draped in the BJP flag after death was his last wish,'' said a UP BJP leader.