New Delhi: Veteran Communist leader from
Bihar and former union Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra
died here on Saturday following prolonged illness.
The 86-year-old CPI leader breathed his last in AIIMS
this morning.
Mishra was ailing for quite some time but his
condition deteriorated and was admitted in the hospital last
evening.
Mishra joined the freedom struggle in his students
days in Madhubani and was arrested twice for his participation
in the struggle. He joined CPI in early 1940s.
After independence, he emerged as one of the top
leaders of the trade union and communist movement in Bihar. He
was twice the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar.
After two terms in Rajya Sabha, he was elected to Lok
Sabha from Madhubani in 1996.
Mishra became a member of CPI National Council in
mid-1970s and rose to become one of the secretaries of the
National Council of CPI.
When in 1997 the CPI joined the United Front
government headed by H D Deve Gowda, Mishra became Agriculture
Minister.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, July 02, 2011, 20:55