Congstrongmanfrommumbai passesaway,tributespourin
Former Union minister, known to be both popular and controversial, suffered a cardiac arrest
MUMBAI: Former Union minister and Congress leader Gurudas Kamat passed away after a cardiac arrest on Wednesday morning at a hospital in New Delhi. He was 63. Kamat is survived by his mother, Manorama; wife, Maharookh; and son, Dr Sunil Kamat, who is an intensivist.
The former Mumbai Congress unit chief was in the Capital to meet senior party leader Ahmed Patel and was expected to return on Wednesday evening. However, after he complained of chest pain, the five-time MP was admitted to a hospital in Chanakyapuri, where he breathed his last.
Kamat’s body was flown to Mumbai in the evening. It will be kept at his residence, Gaurinandan, in Chembur for party workers to pay their last respect from 8am to 10am, after which the cremation is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
LOSS FOR CONGRESS
Kamat had served as Union minister of state (MOS) for home affairs and MOS for communications and information technology from 2009 to 2011 during the UPA-2 regime. He represented the Mumbai North-east constituency in 1984, 1991, 1998 and 2004 and the Mumbai North-west constituency in 2009 in the Parliament. He lost to Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar in the 2014 polls.
Born on October 5, 1954, in Ankola in Karnataka, Kamat completed his graduation from RA Podar College in Mumbai and post-graduation in law from the Government Law College in Mumbai. After a four-year stint as a student leader, he was appointed president of the Mumbai unit of the National Students’ Union of India at 22. He was also president of the Maharashtra Youth Congress in 1987, and later was elevated as head of the Indian Youth Congress. He served as president of the Mumbai unit of Congress between 2003 and 2008.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressed his grief over Kamat’s death. “The sudden passing away of senior leader Gurudas Kamatji is a massive blow to the Congress family. Gurudasji helped build the Congress party in Mumbai, and was greatly respected and admired by all,” he tweeted.
CM Devendra Fadnavis, too, paid his tributes. “He was an aggressive leader, committed to the people. His contribution to the development of Mumbai was immense.”
Kamat’s death comes at a time when the Congress is trying to reclaim the seats it lost in 2014 and also wrest power back in Maharashtra.
POPULAR LEADER, BUT CONTROVERSIAL TOO
Popular among the Congress cadre, Kamat was known for his organisational skills and aggressive leadership.he was also known as an outspoken leader, who would speak his mind on issues, within and outside the party. He never hid his differences with party colleagues such as the late Murli Deora, Kripashankar Singh and Sanjay Nirupam, who were all heading the Mumbai unit of Congress.
Twice in June 2016 and then in February 2017, he had resigned as member and general secretary of the party, announcing that he was retiring from active politics. He was reportedly unhappy with the state of affairs in the Mumbai unit. The first resignation was withdrawn in two weeks. He did not withdraw the second resignation, but started working for the party after a few months. He had even resigned as a Union minister, after he was shifted to a politically less significant portfolio during a Cabinet reshuffle.
When I fought my first election in 2004, Gurudas Kamat was the Mumbai Congress chief. There was a certain baggage to our relationship in the beginning, as my father (former Union minister and former Mumbai Congress chief, the late Murli Deora) and he had political differences.
Even during my first polls, there was an apprehension in political circles – whether he would hurt my prospects. But, he didn’t and was instead quite helpful and co-operative.
Over the years, as fellow MPS,