Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel passes away

GANDHINAGAR: Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel passed away in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning after suffering a heart attack. He was 92.
A number of leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have condoled the death of Patel. The state government will conduct the final rites of the departed leader with full state honour.
“Our beloved and respected Keshubhai has passed away.I am deeply pained and saddened. He was an outstanding leader who cared for every section of society,” PM Modi said in a series of three tweets condoling the death of the leader. The PM called and spoke to Barat Patel, Keshubhai’s son, and offered his condolences to the family.

Other leaders including chief minister Vijay Rupani, state Congress chief Amit Chavda, former CM Shankersinh Vaghela and others condoled the death of the nonagenarian leader. While chief minister Vijay Rupani said at Dhari that Keshubhai’s demise is an irreparable loss to his party and the state, GPCC president Amit Chavda said Keshubhai set an example of how public life of a leader ought to be by spending his entire life working for the welfare of the poor, farmers and other downtrodden sections of society.
Born on July 24, 1928, Keshubhai Patel joined the RSS as a 'pracharak’ in the 1940s. He later joined the Jan Sangh and was chief minister of Gujarat in 1995 and later from 1998 to 2001. He was also deputy chief minister of Gujarat in 1990.
The state cabinet is expected to pass a resolution condoling the death of the leader. His body will be kept at his house in Gandhinagar for visitors to pay their last respects before the final rites are held.