New Delhi: Union Labour and Employment Minister Sis Ram Ola died at a Gurgaon hospital on Sunday after a prolonged illness. The 86-year-old Congress leader from Rajasthan had been suffering from various ailments for some time and was “chronically ill”, sources in Medanta Medicity said.
The end came at 3:40 AM at the hospital. Ola had undergone an eye surgery and an intestine operation at the hospital where he was admitted since November, his family said.
The Jat leader is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed grief at his demise.
The Union Cabinet, of which Ola was a member since June 17, this year, will meet at the Prime Minister’s residence to mourn his death. Condoling his demise, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “Ola’s death has created a vacuum in state politics”.
A recipient of the Padma Shri award in 1968, Ola started girls education in a remote area in rural Rajasthan with three girls in the school known as Indira Gandhi Balika Niketan Ardawata in 1952.
Born on 30 July, 1927, Ola represented the Jhunjhunu constituency of Rajasthan in the Lok Sabha and was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1990, and from 1980 to 1990 he was a cabinet minister in the Government of Rajasthan.
Ola has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times and the Rajasthan assembly eight times. He was Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers (Independent Charge) from 1996 to 1997 and Union Minister of State for Water Resources (Independent Charge) from 1997 to 1998.
Ola was Union Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment from May 23, 2004 to November 27, 2004 and was Union Cabinet Minister of Mines in the Manmohan Singh’s government. His son Bijender Ola is a MLA from Jhunjhunu and was a former minster in the Rajasthan government.
Ansari, PM, Sonia condole Ola’s death
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Sunday condoled the passing away of Union Labour and Employment Minister Sis Ram Ola. “I am deeply saddened at the passing away of Sis Ram Ola, a popular political leader who was intimately connected to the masses,” Ansari said.
He said in a long and distinguished public life spanning over five decades, Ola served the people of the country and his home state of Rajasthan with dedication and distinction.
He served as a Member of Lok Sabha and Rajasthan Assembly for several terms, and also as Member of the Union and State Cabinet, the Vice President said.
The Prime Minister also expressed grief at the demise of the 86-year-old Congress leader, who had been suffering from various ailments.
“He was a valued colleague and a dedicated social worker,” the PMO said on social networking site Twitter.
Sonia Gandhi expressed deep grief over Ola’s death, saying, “The Congress party, the state of Rajasthan, as indeed the nation, has lost a leader of stature and rare earthy wisdom.”
Extending condolences to the bereaved family, she said Ola was a grassroots leader who fought for the cause of the people and had a solid connect with his constituency, as was reflected by his invincible electoral record. Singh and the Congress president also visited Ola’s residence and offered condolences to the senior Congress leader’s family.
“The Prime Minister has called a special meeting of the Cabinet to pay condolences to Shri Sis Ram Ola, Union Minister for Labour and Employment,” the PMO said in another tweet.
The senior Congress leader is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. Ola was awarded Padma Shri for social work in 1968. (PTI)
