Former Union minister Arun Nehru cremated, Priyanka Gandhi’s son lit the pyre

New Delhi: Arun Nehru, former union minister, was cremated at Lodhi Road crematorium in New Delhi on Friday. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s son Raihan, lit the pyre. Several personalities including Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress Vice President and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah were present.

Arun Nehru, a cousin of Rajiv Gandhi during whose Prime Ministership in the 1980's he was a powerful political figure, died last night after protracted illness. He was 69.

Setting aside their differences which led to Nehru leaving the Congress party and joining V P Singh to form the Jan Morcha in 1987 after having served as Minister of State for internal security in Rajiv's cabinet, Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka attended the funeral.

Other dignitaries present at the crematorium included Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, BJP leaders L K Advani and Arun Jaitley and Union Ministers Sachin Pilot, Anand Sharma and Farooq Abdullah. Arun Nehru is survived by his wife Subhadra and two daughters.

Lucknow-born Nehru was a three-time Lok Sabha member and had a successful career in the corporate world before joining politics in the early 1980s.