Ministers Kiriella and Bathiudeen to attend funeral

Public Enterprise & Kandy City Development Minister Lakshman Kiriella and Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen will represent Sri Lanka as the Special Envoys of the Government at the funeral of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Delhi today.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away yesterday evening at the age of 93.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India in 1998 and held the post till 2004. He had also won the highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, in 2004. The political leader was also famous for his poetry and his influential speeches.

The last rites of Mr. Vajpayee will take place at 4 p.m. today (August 17) at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, Indian media said.