Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil died on Friday morning in his home town Latur in Maharashtra.
Family sources said that Patil was ill for some time and he breathed his last at his residence ‘Devghar’. He was 90 years old.
He told that his last rites are likely to be performed on Saturday.
He is survived by son Shailesh Patil, daughter-in-law Archana and two granddaughters. His daughter-in-law had contested the election from Latur city on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket against Congress’s Amit Deshmukh but lost.
Patil was born on October 12, 1935, and started his political career as Latur Municipal Council chief between 1966 and 1970 and was subsequently elected as MLA for two terms. He held many important positions in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly between 1977 and 1979, including Deputy Speaker and Speaker.
He won the Latur Lok Sabha seat seven times and was the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he had to face defeat from BJP’s Ruptai Patil Nilangekar. He was also a Rajya Sabha member.
The Congress leader took charge of several central ministries including defence, commerce and science and technology. Patil was the Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, he resigned after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
He was also the Governor of Punjab and served as the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
A Congress leader said that Patil was known for his dignified conduct and never made personal attacks in public speeches or private conversations.
The party leader said Patil was also known for his wide erudition, deep study and impressive presentation. His command over Marathi, English and Hindi and his extraordinary understanding of constitutional matters made him recognized as a highly respected parliamentarian of his time.
