S.B. Chavan is dead

Friday, 27 February 2004, 20:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Senior Congress party leader and former central home minister S.B. Chavan died at the Bombay Hospital Thursday at age 83. He had been ailing for some time. The condition of Chavan, who was on life-support systems for several days, worsened and the end came Thursday afternoon, according to hospital sources. He had recently undergone surgery for removal of a blood clot. Chavan's body will be taken to his residence at Napean Sea Road in south Mumbai to enable people pay their last respects. Later, the body will be flown to Nanded for cremation Friday. Chavan, who was also Maharashtra chief minister, had been active in politics since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru and went on to serve in important positions in the governments of prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao. He, however, came in for much criticism during his tenure as home minister in Rao's government when Hindu zealots razed the Babri mosque at Ayodhya in December 1992. Known for infusing discipline in the state administrative machinery, Chavan was regarded as a strict taskmaster not only by the government employees but also by Congress legislators. He was also known for his pioneering work in the irrigation sector, especially the ambitious Jaikwadi irrigation project in Marathwada.
Source: IANS