Union Minister Ananth Kumar loses battle with cancer; PM condoles death

Senior Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ananth Kumar. Photo: PTI

Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru in the early hours of Monday, a party spokesman said. Ananth Kumar was 59 and is survived by his wife and two daughters

The BJP minister was suffering from cancer and had undergone treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York and came back in October. The Karnataka government declared a three-day mourning across the state and one-day public holiday for Monday as a mark of respect, all schools and colleges in the city will be closed on Monday.

He breathed his last around 4 am, according to a BJP spokesman. Kumar's wife Tejaswini and his two daughters were with him when he passed away, he said. Kumar was a six-time BJP MP from south Bengaluru constituency.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Arun Jaitely, Nirmala Sitharaman and Nitin Gadkari mourned Kumar's death and expressed condolence to the bereaved family.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet message said. "Extremely saddened by the passing away of my valued colleague and friend, Shri Ananth Kumar Ji. He was a remarkable leader, who entered public life at a young age and went on to serve society with utmost diligence and compassion. He will always be remembered for his good work," he tweeted.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also expressed deep sorrow over Kumar's death. She tweeted

As news of Kumar's demise spread across the city, hundreds of people, including the party's state unit leaders rushed to his residence to pay their last respects.

The Congress and its President Rahul Gandhi also condoled the Minister's demise.

"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Union Minister Shri Ananth Kumar. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this hour. May he rest in peace," the Congress tweeted.

"I'm sorry to hear about the passing of Union Minister, Ananth Kumarji, in Bengaluru, earlier this morning. My condolences to his family & friends. May his soul rest in peace," Gandhi said.

The Centre announced to fly the National Flag at half mast throughout the country on Monday to honour the late Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar.

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