Union Minister Suresh Angadi dies of coronavirus, PM expresses condolences
In a terrible piece of news, Union Minister Suresh Angadi died of coronavirus last evening, nearly two weeks after he tested positive for the highly-contagious disease. He breathed his last around 8 pm at the AIIMS Trauma Center, which has been converted into a coronavirus-dedicated facility to tackle the worrying spike in cases. The BJP leader was the Minister of States for Railways.
Doctors at AIIMS said Angadi was stable initially. "It (his condition) deteriorated suddenly on Monday evening and we couldn't save him despite our best efforts," doctors said. The 65-year-old is the first Union Minister to have lost the battle to the disease. He leaves behind his wife and two daughters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted condolences, saying that Angadi was an "exceptional Karyakarta."
Shri Suresh Angadi was an exceptional Karyakarta, who worked hard to make the Party strong in Karnataka. He was a dedicated MP and effective Minister, admired across the spectrum. His demise is saddening. My thoughts are with his family and friends in this sad hour. Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/2QDHQe0Pmj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 23, 2020
Born in 1955, Angadi won the Lok Sabha elections from Belagavi (Karnataka) in 2004, for the first time. His victory streak continued for four consecutive general elections. He got a seat in the cabinet in 2019 and was considered a heavyweight for his clout in North Karnataka. Born in a Lingayat family, he held various posts in BJP during his illustrious political career.
As MoS (Railways), Angadi took a keen interest in big-ticket projects. In the last few months, when coronavirus-induced restrictions were in place, he chaired several virtual meetings with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal said Angadi was like a brother and he couldn't describe his commitment toward people in words. After the news surfaced, loyalists flocked his home in Karnataka to extend support.
As a politician, Angadi was credited for BJP's win in 25 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka last year. He was also a lawyer and education baron. Under the Suresh Angadi Education Foundation, he ran several educational institutions. An engineering college, an arts and commerce college, an architecture college, and an international school were handled by the foundation.
Besides BJP leaders, politicians from the opposition also remembered Angadi. JD(S) veteran and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda said, "He was like a younger brother to me. I feel terrible losing him. This is an unbearable loss to our nation." Saying he was shocked, President Ram Nath Kovind added, "An amiable leader Shri Angadi worked tirelessly for the people of his constituency, and Karnataka."
Meanwhile, India, the second worst-hit nation by coronavirus, has already lost 91,173 to the disease. After over 86,000 fresh cases were added yesterday, the tally rose to 5,730,184. Before Angadi, the disease took the lives of 55-year-old Ashok Gasti, a newly-elected BJP member for Rajya Sabha, YSR's parliamentarian 64-year-old Balli Durga Prasad Rao, and 70-year-old H Vasanthakumar, who was a Congress MP.
