Former PM Gujral passes away; PM, others mourn

Former prime minister IK Gujral, who headed a rickety coalition government in the late 1990s, died after a brief illness.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Former prime minister IK Gujral, who headed a rickety coalition government in the late 1990s, died on Friday after a brief illness. Gujral, 92, breathed his last at 3.31 PM in a private hospital. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid tribute to Gujral. The PM telephoned Naresh Gujral, the son of the former PM and a Rajya Sabha member from the Shiromani Akali Dal, to express condolences. "Shri Gujral was a man of peace, an idealist who lived by his principles and an intellectual with the human touch," the PM said. Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said: “Mr Gujral`s passing away: a great loss to nation. Country has lost a great son. He has left a legacy of probity and integrity.” The former prime minister, who was ventilator support, had been unwell for some time. He was on dialysis for over a year and suffered a serious chest infection some days ago. He will be cremated in nearby Delhi on Saturday. Gujral, who migrated from Pakistan after partition, rose to become the Prime Minister with a big slice of luck after he came up through the ranks - starting as vice president in NDMC in the `50s to later become a Union Minister and then India`s Ambassador to the USSR.