BHUBANESWAR: The BJP is planing a memorial service for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Exhibition Ground in Unit III on Friday. The party hopes that the service will be attended by members of all faiths and irrespective of political beliefs.Given Vajpayee's acceptance across political divide, the party hopes it will allow people from all walks of life to pay homage to the former Prime Minister. "We appeal to everybody across the political divide to join in the memorial service," BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said at press conference here on Tuesday.He also said the party plans to invite chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik to atend the memorial service. "We will send personal invitations to various political leaders including Naveen Patnak, presidents of various political parties, leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra and prominent citizens. We hope all of them will attend the memorial service," Mohapatra added.It remains to be seen whether Naveen, who served as Union minister for steel and mines in the Vajpayee government from 1998 to 2000, attends the memorial service. Naveen had gone to Delhi to visit an ailing Vajpayee and had described him as one of the tallest leaders of the country.Mohapatra said BJP state unit president Basanta Panda, Union ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP legislature party leader KV Singhdeo will reach here with the 'asthi kalash' (urn) from Delhi on Wednesday evening. The ashes will be brought to the party office and kept there for people to pay homage before it is immersed in the Bay of Bengal.The BJP is planning bhajan and kirtan at the party office throughout the night. The saffron outfit is mobilising people from its more than 800 organizational units to take part in the immersion and memorial service.On Thursday morning, the BJP will take out a massive procession from Bhubaneswar to Puri to immerse the ashes in the Bay of Bengal. The procession will pass through Pipli, Danda Mukundpur, Sakhigopal, Chandanpur and Atharanala, Mohapatra said. There would be brief stopovers in these places for people to pay their respects to Vajpayee.

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