Ahmedabad, Jun 20 (PTI) BJP president JP Nadda and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel were among the several leaders from the ruling party who paid tributes on Friday to former CM Vijay Rupani, who died in the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash.
Others who attended the prayer meeting for Rupani here included Gujarat BJP chief and Union minister CR Paatil, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and senior leader V Satish. Rupani's wife Anjaliben, his daughter Radhika and son Rushabh were also present.
"His untimely departure is unimaginable. It is very difficult to come to terms with it even now. This loss is not of his family alone, it is a personal loss of every worker of Bharatiya Janata Party. And if we have to pay tribute to Rupani ji in the true sense, then I think we have to keep the worker alive inside us like him," said Nadda in his address at the prayer meet.
Rupani had assimilated BJP's ideology and rose through the ranks due to hard work, commitment and devotion, Nadda added.
Rupani was a "disciplined soldier of the party" and remained active till his last breath, said Gujarat CM Patel.
"He successfully led the state during the Taukte cyclone and COVID-19 pandemic. He dedicated his entire life in the service of people," Patel, who succeeded Rupani as state CM, added.
Paatil said Rupani, who started his career as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) worker, proved his mettle in every role offered to him by the party.
Rupani (68) was CM for two terms from August 7, 2016 to September 11, 2021, after winning the Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections from Rajkot West seat. At the time of his death, he was the BJP's in charge for Punjab.
The Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed moments after it took from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport at 1:39pm on June 12. It crashed into a medical college campus in Meghaninagar, killing 241 out of 242 persons onboard, as well as 29, including five MBBS students, on the ground.