Kolkata: Former West Bengal chief minister
Siddhartha Shankar Ray Saturday night died at his South Kolkata
residence after a protracted illness.
He was 90 and survived by his wife Maya Ray.
"Ray was ill for quite a long time and had been on
dialysis since March. The end came about 6:50 pm," his
confidential assistant M Kaviraj said.
Ray, a close friend of former chief minister late
Jyoti Basu, was elected as the chief minister in 1972.
The Congress veteran, a former Punjab Governor, had
also served as the Indian Ambassador to the US.
A confidant of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in
the 70s, he was appointed union minister (in-charge of West
Bengal affairs) by her in 1971.
Ray was a grandson of revolutionary freedom fighter
Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das.
PTI
