Veteran Congress leader and a three-term former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi died here on Monday while undergoing treatment for post-Covid-19 complications, State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Gogoi, thrice Chief Minister of the state from 2001 to 2016, breathed his last at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at 5.34 pm, Sarma said. He was 84 and is survived by wife Dolly, daughter Chandrima and son Gaurav, a Lok Sabha member.
The veteran Congress leader was first admitted to the hospital on August 26 after testing positive for Covid-19 and was discharged for a brief period before being admitted again on November 2.
His condition deteriorated on November 21, following multi-organ failure and was put on invasive ventilation. Gogoi was given dialysis on Sunday. His condition deteriorated further over the past few hours and the hospital where he was admitted said he was “very, very critical”.
“Extremely sad to know of the demise of Shri Tarun Gogoi, former Chief Minister of Assam. The country has lost a veteran leader with rich political and administrative experience. His long tenure in office was a period of epochal change in Assam,” President Ram Nath tweeted.
Expressing his anguish at the death of Gogoi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a popular leader and veteran administrator who had years of political experience in Assam as well as at the Centre.
Modi tweeted, “Sri Tarun Gogoi Ji was a popular leader and a veteran administrator, who had years of political experience in Assam as well as the Centre. Anguished by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this hour of sadness. Om Shanti.”
“Shri Tarun Gogoi was one of the tallest leaders of the Congress party, admired and respected for his extraordinary wisdom, vision and ability. With his long years of experience as an MLA, an MP, a Central Minister and Chief Minister of Assam, he was someone to whose unfailingly wise counsel and advice we could always turn to,” said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
His body will be taken to his residence in Dispur and from there to the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra where people can pay their homage to the leader on Tuesday, said Sarma, a former cabinet colleague of Gogoi.
He will be cremated with full state honours and the venue will be decided in consultation with his family, the minister added.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his letter, “I was deeply shocked and saddened by the untimely passing away of your beloved husband Shri Tarun Gogoi ji. He was one of my dearest friends from the state of Assam. Shri Tarun Gogoi ji was the most popular leader from Assam who served six terms as a member of Parliament and has led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in the state of Assam as chief minister.”
Tuesday, 24 November 2020 | PTI | Guwahati
