Patna:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Patna, on his second visit to the city within a week, in the thick of the Lok Sabha elections.

PM Modi, who had last weekend held the city in thrall with a spectacular roadshow, was received at the airport by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.

Upon arriving in the city, the PM drove straight to the residence of Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP leader who died last week battling cancer.

After condoling the bereaved family members, the PM reached the BJP’s state headquarters to hold deliberations with party workers ahead of the last couple of phases of polls.

PM Modi is scheduled to retire at the Raj Bhavan for the night and leave Tuesday morning for election rallies in Siwan and East Champaran districts.

Tight security arrangements, including traffic restrictions, were in place across the city. 

New Delhi:

Senior BJP leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi died aged 72 this evening. He was suffering from cancer. Politicians across party lines mourned him, calling his death “an irreparable loss” for Bihar politics.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “saddened by” the death of his “valuable colleague in the party and my friend for decades, Sushil Modi. PM Modi credited him for the “rise and success of BJP in Bihar”.

पार्टी में अपने मूल्यवान सहयोगी और दशकों से मेरे मित्र रहे सुशील मोदी जी के असामयिक निधन से अत्यंत दुख हुआ है। बिहार में भाजपा के उत्थान और उसकी सफलताओं के पीछे उनका अमूल्य योगदान रहा है। आपातकाल का पुरजोर विरोध करते हुए, उन्होंने छात्र राजनीति से अपनी एक अलग पहचान बनाई थी। वे… pic.twitter.com/160Bfbt72n

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 13, 2024

Bihar has lost a great pioneer of politics forever, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “His politics was dedicated to the interests of the poor and the backward. The void that has emerged in Bihar politics due to his demise cannot be filled for a long time,” he posted on X.

हमारे वरिष्ठ नेता सुशील कुमार मोदी जी के निधन की सूचना से आहत हूँ। आज बिहार ने राजनीति के एक महान पुरोधा को हमेशा के लिए खो दिया। ABVP से भाजपा तक सुशील जी ने संगठन व सरकार में कई महत्त्वपूर्ण पदों को सुशोभित किया। उनकी राजनीति गरीबों व पिछड़ों के हितों के लिए समर्पित रही। उनके…

— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) May 13, 2024

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled the death of his former deputy expressing “deep sorrow”. “He worked with me for a long time as deputy chief minister. I had a personal relationship with him. I have lost a true friend and a hard-working politician today,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav remembered the former deputy chief minister of Bihar as a “struggling and hardworking leader”.

बिहार के पूर्व उपमुख्यमंत्री, हमारे अभिभावक, संघर्षशील एवं कर्मठ नेता आदरणीय श्री सुशील कुमार मोदी जी के असामयिक निधन की खबर सुन अत्यंत व्यथित हूँ। ईश्वर दिवगंत आत्मा को अपने श्रीचरणों में स्थान तथा परिजनों व शुभचिंतकों को दुख की इस घड़ी में सम्बल प्रदान करे। ॐ शांति ॐ

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 13, 2024

Tejashwi Yadav’s father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav condoled Sushil Kumar Modi’s death. “My friend from the time of Patna University Students Union, i.e. for the last 51-52 years,” he posted on X.

पटना यूनिवर्सिटी छात्र संघ के समय यानि विगत 51-52 वर्षों से हमारे मित्र भाई सुशील मोदी के निधन का अति दुःखद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ।

वे एक जुझारू, समर्पित सामाजिक राजनीतिक व्यक्ति थे। ईश्वर दिवगंत आत्मा को चिरशांति तथा परिजनों को दुख सहने की शक्ति प्रदान करें।

— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) May 13, 2024

BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid their respects. 

भारतीय जनता पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेता और बिहार के पूर्व उपमुख्यमंत्री श्री सुशील मोदी जी के निधन का समाचार अत्यंत दुःखद है।

विद्यार्थी परिषद से लेकर अभी तक हमने साथ में संगठन के लिए लंबे समय तक काम किया। सुशील मोदी जी का पूरा जीवन बिहार के लिये समर्पित रहा। बिहार को जंगलराज से बाहर…

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JPNadda) May 13, 2024

बिहार के पूर्व उपमुख्यमंत्री एवं पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेता, श्री सुशील कुमार मोदी के निधन से मुझे गहरा दुख हुआ है। उनका लम्बा सार्वजनिक जीवन जनता-जनार्दन की सेवा और गरीब कल्याण के प्रति समर्पित था। उन्होंने बिहार में पार्टी को मज़बूत और लोकप्रिय बनाने के लिए काफ़ी परिश्रम किया।…

— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) May 13, 2024

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief also paid her tributes.  

Sorry to hear about the sad demise of Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family & friends. May the departed soul rest in peace.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 13, 2024

Last month, Sushil Modi had taken to X to announce that he was diagnosed with cancer and will not be able to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.  

New Delhi:
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who died of cancer at 72, had been the quintessential organisation man with formidable clout as the BJP’s tallest leader in Bihar. His famed skills had been put to test every election season.

Here are 5 points about Sushil Kumar Modi

Mumbai:

BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday stressed that the time has come for reforms in Muslim personal laws to ensure gender neutrality.

During a discussion on the topic of “Uniform Civil Code (UCC): Majoritarian Agenda or Much-needed Reform?” at the India Today Conclave here, he cited the practices of polygamy and “triple talaq” and said there is a need for gender neutrality in laws.

“The time has now come for bringing in reforms in the existing Muslim personal laws,” Mr Modi, a former deputy chief minister of Bihar, said.

Besides Mr Modi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and women’s right activist and lawyer Flavia Agnes participated in the discussion.

“What kind of law requires a divorced woman, who intends to get married to her first husband again, to first marry and get ‘triple talaq’ from another man to fulfil her wish?” the BJP leader asked.

Mr Owaisi defended the personal laws and said, “The second wife of a Muslim man is entitled to maintenance and a separate house to live.” “She gets maintenance rights, a separate house to live in, and is called a wife. Whereas if a Hindu man marries a second wife, she is not even called a wife,” he said.

Around 80 per cent of child marriages happened in Hindu communities, Mr Owaisi further claimed.

Flavia Agnes spoke about the need to bring in gender justice in all laws.

On the Uniform Civil Code, BJP MP Modi said its first draft “can be expected sooner than later”. “When the Hindu Code Bill was introduced in 1955, the Hindus vehemently opposed it. At the time, polygamy was more prominent among Hindus than Muslims,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)