Shimla: Veteran freedom fighter and former Himachal Pradesh minister Gauri Shankar Prasad died at his native place at Mandi on Sunday.
He was 94 years` old.
Born in 1920 in Mandi, Pandit Gauri Shankar Prasad joined the Praja Mandal movement after completing his education from Lahore in 1940-41.
He was elected to the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha from Rewalsar constituency in Mandi in 1952 and was inducted as Public Works Minister in the first ministry headed by Yashwant Singh Parmar.
Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh have condoled the death, and said that he was not only a freedom fighter but also played a key role in ensuring separate identity of Himachal.
The Chief Minister said that Prasad, popularly known as `Pandit ji`, was always concerned about uplift of the poor and the downtrodden and also worked for the welfare of freedom fighters.
"For Pandit ji, joining politics was a social service and he would always be remembered for maintaining high standards in politics," the CM added.
