Gujarat Assembly speaker Ashok Bhatt passes away
Veteran BJP leader and Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ashok Chandulal Bhatt died late evening on Wednesday. He was 71.
The end came at a private hospital in Ahmedabad. Bhatt, who was suffering from heart ailment, was on ventilator since Tuesday night after his condition turned critical. Earlier this month, he had to be rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties but was discharged a couple of days later after his condition improved.
Bhatt’s body will be kept at his residence in Khadia from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. for the public to pay their last respects. Later, his body will be taken to the Assembly at Gandhinagar for paying state honours from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The funeral will be held at 12 noon. A two-day state mourning has been declared in Gujarat.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his deep condolences over the demise of Bhatt.
Bhatt had started his public life as a student activist, taking part in the Maha Gujarat agitation, which eventually gave birth to the state of Gujarat in 1960. He subsequently joined the Jansangh and was the president of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1976 to 1980. Bhatt, who underwent imprisonment during the Emergency,. became a municipal councillor in Ahmadabad in 1973 and was chairman of the Gujarat Slum Clearance Board during 1977-80.
After first being elected to the Assembly in 1975 from Khadia in Ahmedabad, Bhatt went on to be an MLA for no less than 8 consecutive terms, holding several positions, including chairing the Public Accounts Committee. As a cabinet minister, he had held several portfolios down the years, ranging from Civil Supplies, Revenue, Jails, Labour and Employment, Health and Family Welfare, Law and Justice, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Cow-breeding, Devasthanam and Pilgrimage Development. He was also the BJP whip in the Assembly from 1980 to 1990.Bhatt is survived by his wife Jyoti, three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Bhushan Bhatt, is a municipal councillor in AMC.
The end came at a private hospital in Ahmedabad. Bhatt, who was suffering from heart ailment, was on ventilator since Tuesday night after his condition turned critical. Earlier this month, he had to be rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties but was discharged a couple of days later after his condition improved.
Bhatt’s body will be kept at his residence in Khadia from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. for the public to pay their last respects. Later, his body will be taken to the Assembly at Gandhinagar for paying state honours from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The funeral will be held at 12 noon. A two-day state mourning has been declared in Gujarat.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his deep condolences over the demise of Bhatt.
Bhatt had started his public life as a student activist, taking part in the Maha Gujarat agitation, which eventually gave birth to the state of Gujarat in 1960. He subsequently joined the Jansangh and was the president of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1976 to 1980. Bhatt, who underwent imprisonment during the Emergency,. became a municipal councillor in Ahmadabad in 1973 and was chairman of the Gujarat Slum Clearance Board during 1977-80.
After first being elected to the Assembly in 1975 from Khadia in Ahmedabad, Bhatt went on to be an MLA for no less than 8 consecutive terms, holding several positions, including chairing the Public Accounts Committee. As a cabinet minister, he had held several portfolios down the years, ranging from Civil Supplies, Revenue, Jails, Labour and Employment, Health and Family Welfare, Law and Justice, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Cow-breeding, Devasthanam and Pilgrimage Development. He was also the BJP whip in the Assembly from 1980 to 1990.Bhatt is survived by his wife Jyoti, three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Bhushan Bhatt, is a municipal councillor in AMC.