New Delhi: Veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta passed away at his Kolkata residence on Thursday. He was 83 when he breathed his last. He had been suffering from heart and kidney-related ailments for a long time and was admitted to a private hospital in Newtown, Kolkata.
“Saddened at the passing away of CPI leader Gurudas Dasguptaji. He will be remembered for his contribution to the nation as a Parliamentarian and trade union leader. Condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement.
Gurudas Dasgupta had a long political career that started in the nineties. In 1985, he became a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was elected as the General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in 2001.
In 2004, he was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Panskura in West Bengal. In 2009, he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Ghatal in West Bengal. He was a member of JPC on 2G spectrum case and accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of “dereliction of duty”, alleging that Manmohan Singh was fully aware of irregularities in dispensing of telecom licences.
A well-read Parliamentarian, Dasgupta had a formidable reputation as an MP. He had raised several important issues during his 25-year-long stint in Parliament. When he decided not to contest in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he mentioned that he would only retire from electoral politics, not politics in general.
Apart from his fiery debates in Parliament, the CPI leader will be remembered as one MP who had a record percentage of presence in Parliament sessions — never below 70 per cent. “I will continue my legal as well as political battle against the loot by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance in the KG Basin,” Dasgupta had said while retiring from electoral politics.
