A row has rocked the political corridors in Gujarat after it was revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) refused to bear the expenses for the funeral of late former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. The ex-CM died in the tragic Air India crash near Ahmedabad airport in which all but one passenger died. The grand funeral of Rupani cost the family Rs 25 lakh leaving them shocked after the saffron party denied to pay anything.
The controversy has hit the party leadership with no one replying to the question. A report in the Indian Express said that state BJP President and Union Minister CR Patil dodged questions on the row during his visit to Rajkot. It stated that questions were posed to both Patil, who is Union Water Resources Minister CR Patil, but they didn’t answer.
The silence, the IE stated, hints at some discord within the party’s Gujarat unit.
Rupani’s funeral: Everyone attended, but family burdened with payment
The row came to light three months after Rupani’s funeral procession in which top leaders of the saffron party had participated. It was held in Rajkot in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, several top BJP leaders, thousands of party workers and citizens. It all happened on June 16, 2025, four days after the crash.
While people came, attended the funeral and went back, the bills for flowers, tents, and other arrangements were quietly passed on to the family of the late CM’s family. And BJP did not cover it, the report said.
The family had no idea about this until the traders and suppliers of material knocked at their doorstep in July seeking their dues. With no relief in sight, the family began paying off the debts, the report further said.
The painful sight of an ex-CM’s family, already mourning their loss, and now burdened with financial strain – has led to a silent outrage among party leaders.
Patil dodges question, hints at internal discord
What happened with the family was not as much public as today it is, until CR Patil refused to answer the questions, but did not also reject the claim. In Rajkot to attend a ‘Namotsav’ program at the Racecourse ground, Patil was asked by reporters about the recently held India-Pak match and the row around it, he ignored it.
However, when reporters asked about Rupani’s funeral and row around its expense, he seemingly dodged the same and made a vague remark, “This is a Namotsav matter, I will definitely answer later.”
Citing BJP insiders, the IE reported that the decision to not pay for Rupani’s funeral was influenced by two powerful Saurashtra leaders. This indicates a possible power struggle brewing inside the party. The workers and people of Rajkot as well as Saurashtra do not seem satisfied and the anger is evident on the ground, the report said.
Air India’s AI-171 plane had crashed on the building of a medical college seconds after taking off near Ahmedabad airport on June 12, killing a total of 270 people. This included students of the medical college as well.