Mysuru : Thousands of people, including Karnataka Ministers, elected representatives of the region and across the State, cutting across party lines, today paid their last respects to Chief Minister Siddharamaiah’s elder son Rakesh Siddharamaiah (39), whose mortal remains were kept for public viewing on a specially-erected platform at the Ranga Mandira in the Dasara Exhibition premises here with a huge portrait of Rakesh in the background.

It may be recalled that Rakesh Siddharamaiah had passed away at the Antwerp University Hospital at Brussels in Belgium on Saturday last after a brief illness.

Earlier in the day, an Emirates Airlines aircraft carrying the body of Rakesh, accompanied by CM Siddharamaiah, his wife Parvathi, younger son Dr. Yathindra, Rakesh’s wife Smitha, son Dhawan, MLC Byrathi Suresh, which left Brussels yesterday landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at about 9.15 am this morning after a stop-over at Dubai. The members of Siddharamaiah’s family and the body of Rakesh were immediately boarded to two waiting special aircraft on which they were flown to Mandakalli Airport on the outskirts of Mysuru.

After the two planes landed at the Mandakalli Airport at about 10.45 am, the body of Rakesh, kept inside a glass coffin, was placed in an open Ambulance with Ministers Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, H.S. Mahadevaprasad and Dr. G. Parameshwara accompanying it while Siddharamaiah in another car, reached the Dasara Exhibition grounds at about 12.50 pm.

Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, Kanakagiri Seer Sri Shivananda Puri Swamiji, Senior leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge, K.H. Muniyappa, S.M. Krishna, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Kagodu Thimmappa, M.V. Rajashekaran, Rehman Khan, Oscar Fernandes, D.V. Sadanandagowda, Jagadish Shettar, B.S. Yeddyurappa, H.D. Kumaraswamy, D.K. Shivakumar, K.S. Eshwarappa, K.B. Koliwad, Ramesh Kumar, V. Sreenivasa Prasad, R.V. Deshpande, Kimmane Rathnakar, T.B. Jayachandra, Vatal Nagaraj, Umashree, Priyank Kharge, Ramanath Rai, S.R. Patil, Dr. Sharana Prakash Patil, U.T. Khader, Tanveer Sait, actors Jayamala and Darshan, MLAs and MLCs were among those who paid their last respects to Rakesh Siddharamaiah at the Expo grounds.

Even as all the dignitaries tried to console the CM, an emotionally-charged Siddharamaiah was very often seen taking out his glasses and wiping his tears with a handkerchief.

Bureaucrats including P. Manivannan, Kumar Naik, Rajneesh Goel, Lakshminarayan, N.R. Vishukumar and others also paid their respects to the departed soul.

After the public viewing, the mortal remains of Rakesh Siddharamaiah was taken to his farm-house at T. Katur, about 15 kms from here, as per ‘Halumatha’ tradition under the guidance of Niranjananda Puri Swamiji, President of Kanaka Guru Peetha the mortal laid to rest.