Bangaru Laxman passes away

Hyderabad: Former BJP president and the first Dalit to head the party, Bangaru Laxman, died here on Saturday. He was 74.

Laxman, who had been unwell for some time, passed away at Yashoda Hospital around 5 pm due to cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife and former MP, Susheela Laxman, son and three daughters.

The funeral rites will be performed at Punjagutta graveyard at 4 pm on Sunday. Senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Prakash Jawadekar are likely to attend it.

Laxman, who was to turn 75 on March 17, was confined to a wheelchair for the past 12 years. He was not keeping well for sometime due to a kidney ailment. He entered politics at an early age; he joined RSS at the age of 12. He grew up by dint of merit in the organization. He did his BA and LLB in Hyderabad. He was jailed during the Emergency in 1975.

Laxman was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1996. He served as the Union Minister of State for Railways between 1999 and 2000 during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He took over the reins of the BJP from 2000 to 2001. He was removed as the BJP president in 2001 when the news portal Tehelka carried a sting operation on him, showing him taking Rs 1 lakh as bribe from undercover journalists in his chamber at the party headquarters to fix a fictitious deal to supply equipment to the Indian Army.

The former BJP chief was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act by a special CBI court and sentenced to four years in jail in April 2012. He was granted bail in October 2012 on health grounds. He resigned from the BJP's national executive after the court verdict.

BJP National President Rajnath Singh tweeted: "I am deeply saddened to hear the news of former BJP president Shri Bangaru Laxman's sudden demise. He dedicated his life serving the weaker sections of the society. My heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family."

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said, "Sad to know about Shri Bangaru Laxman's demise. May his soul rest in peace. Condolences to his family." Senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu who is in Visakhapatnam expressed his deep condolences over the death of Laxman. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, expressing his condolences, said that the BJP leader had done great service to the welfare of the Dalits and always responded to the problems faced by the people both as the union minister and as the BJP national president. YSRCP president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said that Laxman who hailed from a Dalit family came up in politics and rose to great heights because of his hard work. He joined politics at a very young age and was among those leaders who were jailed during the emergency, he added. RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagawat deeply condoled Laxman's demise. He said Laxman took part in social service with ardent devotion since he was a youth and carved out a special place for himself in the society. In him, the nation lost a dedicated worker who strove selflessly for the society. The RSS was paying a great homage to the departed leader, Bhagawat said.