Ex-Indian PM died of cancer
Monday, July 9, 2007
FORMER Indian Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar died yesterday in New Delhi. He died of cancer at the age of 80, a hospital statement said.
Chandra Shekhar, who headed a coalition government as India's 11th prime minister from 1990 to 1991, was a socialist politician. He represented the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, in the northen part of India.
"He had been suffering from multiple myeloma for the past few years and, unfortunately, succumbed to the illness and passed away this morning at 8:45 am (0315 GMT)," said a statement from Apollo Hospital, where he was being treated.
Multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cell.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Chandra Shekhar as a "truly secular nationalist, who worked for the people's welfare and national development ".
Chandra Shekhar was a sitting member of the lower house of parliament, to which he was elected for an eighth term in 2004.
He was a member of the ruling Congress party — which heads the present federal coalition — until the 1970s.
As a dissident Congress leader, he was imprisoned during India's emergency rule in 1975-77. It was during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Congress government.
Along with some other national leaders, he formed a new party called the Samajwadi Janata Party (The Socialist People's Party) in 1990, after spending several years in the Janata Party, another socialist group that came to power after the emergency.
Chandra Shekhar was known as a calming influence in India's often raucous parliament and for his deep friendships with politicians across the political spectrum. Reuters
Chandra Shekhar, who headed a coalition government as India's 11th prime minister from 1990 to 1991, was a socialist politician. He represented the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, in the northen part of India.
"He had been suffering from multiple myeloma for the past few years and, unfortunately, succumbed to the illness and passed away this morning at 8:45 am (0315 GMT)," said a statement from Apollo Hospital, where he was being treated.
Multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cell.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Chandra Shekhar as a "truly secular nationalist, who worked for the people's welfare and national development ".
Chandra Shekhar was a sitting member of the lower house of parliament, to which he was elected for an eighth term in 2004.
He was a member of the ruling Congress party — which heads the present federal coalition — until the 1970s.
As a dissident Congress leader, he was imprisoned during India's emergency rule in 1975-77. It was during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Congress government.
Along with some other national leaders, he formed a new party called the Samajwadi Janata Party (The Socialist People's Party) in 1990, after spending several years in the Janata Party, another socialist group that came to power after the emergency.
Chandra Shekhar was known as a calming influence in India's often raucous parliament and for his deep friendships with politicians across the political spectrum. Reuters
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