BENGALURU:
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Ananth Kumar served in earlier NDA government
2. He was first person to speak in Kannada in the United Nations
3. He was "youngest" minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in 1998
Ananth Kumar, union Minister and senior BJP leader, died at a hospital in Bengaluru this morning. He was 59. Ananth Kumar was suffering from lung cancer and had returned from the US last month after treatment in New York.
The minister's wife Tejaswini and two daughters were with him in his last moments. His body has been kept at his home in Basavanagudi. On Tuesday, the body will be taken to Jagannath Bhavan, the BJP's state office in Malleshwaram and from there it will be taken to the National College grounds in Bengaluru for last respects. He will be cremated around 1 pm, state BJP General Secretary N Ravi Kumar said.
The national flag will fly at half mast across the country as a mark of respect to the union minister. Karnataka has announced a three-day state mourning and all schools, colleges and offices are closed today.
Ananth Kumar was one of the few ministers to have also served in the earlier BJP-led government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In fact, he was the youngest minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in 1998 and was minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism, Sports, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
The six-time MP from Karnataka was the first person to speak in Kannada in the United Nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a remarkable leader, an able administrator and a great asset to the BJP.
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