Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar died at a hospital in Bengaluru this morning. He was 59. Ananth Kumar was suffering from cancer and had returned from the US last month after treatment in New York. The minister’s wife Tejaswini and two daughters were with him in his last moments.His body will be kept at National College grounds in Bengaluru for last respects.
Karnataka has announced three-day state mourning and all schools, colleges and offices are closed today. Ananth Kumar was one of the few ministers to have also served in the earlier BJP-led government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.In fact, he was the youngest minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet in 1998 and was minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism, Sports, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
The six-time MP from Karnataka was the first person to speak in Kannada in the United Nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a remarkable leader, an able administrator and a great asset to the BJP.