Ailing Bengal minister Subrata Mukherjee passes away

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee died while being treated for cardiac ailments at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. Mukherjee was the state panchayat minister and was also in charge of three other departments. He is survived by his wife. Mukherjee, who was hospitalised on October 24 following breathing problems, underwent angioplasty when two stents were inserted inside his blocked arteries on November 1.The former Kolkata mayor was hospitalised with similar ailments in May, after he was arrested and sent to jail in connection with the Narada sting tape case. He was out on bail.

While condoling Mukherjee's death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said "I still can't believe he is no longer with us. He was such a dedicated party leader. It is a personal loss for me," West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury also condoled his death. "This is a big loss for West Bengal. It feels like I have lost my elder brother. A few days back, I went to see him in the hospital and spoke to him. It's a big loss for Indian politics," he said. The BJP's West Bengal president, Dr Sukanta Majumdar described Mukherjee's death as the end of a great era of Bengal politics."It's definitely very sad. He was the youngest Cabinet minister in the Siddhartha Shankar Ray government. From then till today, he was a popular politician. May his soul rest in peace."