Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his condolences for Karnataka seer on Twitter.Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara today slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for skipping funeral proceedings of Lingayat seer Sree Sree Shivakumara Swami on Tuesday.

The last rites of venerated godman -- popularly known as "Walking God" -- were conducted on premises of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Karnataka's Tumakuru, a day after he died of a protracted illness at age of 111."PM Modi attends celebrity weddings, meets movie stars but skips funeral of our NaDedaDuva devaru, who dedicated his life to helping poor and marginalised.

Repeated requests to confer Bharat Ratna on him have gone in vain," he tweeted.The Congress legislator was referring to a recent group-selfie Prime Minister had taken with an array of Bollywood stars -- including Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurana and Karan Johar -- recently.

Last month, PM Modi had attended wedding reception of actor Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas at a five-star hotel in national capital."All I am saying is that Prime Minister should have come.

It would have meant a lot if he was seen attending such a man's funeral," Mr Parameshwara said.

However, he rejected criticism that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had not attended Sree Sree Shivakumara Swami's funeral either.

"Rahul Gandhi is not occupying any position in government.

When Rahul Gandhi becomes Prime Minister, I will criticise him too," he claimed.Although PM Modi did not attend funeral, he sent two Union Ministers in his stead and paid tributes to seer on Twitter.

"His holiness Dr Sree Sree Sree Sivakumara Swamigalu lived for people, especially poor and vulnerable.

He devoted himself to alleviating ills like poverty, hunger and social injustice.

Prayers and solidarity with his countless devotees spread all across world," he had tweeted, recalling how seer used to "treat him like a son" during his visits to his temple.Sree Sree Shivakumara Swami was known across country for his social work, such as providing holistic education to youngsters from poorer sections of society, preserving ancient Sanskrit language, and helping downtrodden in society.His funeral was attended by both state and national leaders, including Union Ministers DV Sadananda Gowda and Nirmala Sitharaman; Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy; state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa; former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda; yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy.(With inputs from ANI)