BackUnion labour minister Sis Ram Ola dies
Ola had been suffering from various ailments for some time; Oscar Fernandes given additional charge of labour ministry
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New Delhi: Union labour and employment minister Sis Ram Ola died at a Gurgaon hospital on Sunday after a prolonged illness.
The 86-year-old Congress leader from Rajasthan had been suffering from various ailments for some time and was “chronically ill", people familiar with the matter in Medanta Medicity said.
Ola died at 3.40am in the hospital. Ola had undergone an eye surgery and an intestine operation at the hospital where he was admitted since November, his family said.
The leader is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief at his demise.
Condoling his demise, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, “Ola’s death has created a vacuum in state politics".
Ola received the Padma Shri award in 1968.
Born on 30 July 1927, Ola represented the Jhunjhunu constituency of Rajasthan in the Lok Sabha and was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1990, and from 1980 to 1990 he was a cabinet minister in the government of Rajasthan.
The cabinet met on Sunday to condole Ola’s death.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed deep grief over Ola’s death, saying, “The Congress party, the state of Rajasthan, as indeed the nation, has lost a leader of stature and rare earthy wisdom."
Ola will be accorded a state funeral at his native village in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan on Monday. As a mark of respect for the departed leader, the national flag was flown at half-mast in Delhi and the capitals of states/Union territories on Sunday.
Union minister Oscar Fernandes was given the additional charge of ministry of labour and employment on Sunday. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said the decision was taken on the advice of the prime minister.
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