PM Modi, Rajnath Singh to attend Ananth Kumar's last rites

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, who died on Monday morning at a hospital in Bengaluru, will be cremated this afternoon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP President Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan are expected to attend the funeral.

Ananth Kumar was battling with lung cancer for several months. He was 59. He had returned to Bengaluru recently after unsuccessful treatment in the US and the UK.

Prime Minister Modi condoled the death of the minister. President Ram Nath Kovind described his death as a "tragic loss to public life" and "particularly for the people of Karnataka."