Veteran CPI(M) leader passes away

Kolkata: Veteran CPI(M) leader Nirupam Sen, whose tenure as West Bengal’s Industry minister saw rapid industrial growth in the state but also the exit of the Tata Nano project after violent protests, died here Monday after a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 72.
The former politburo member of the party is survived by wife, a son and a daughter. Sen passed away at 5.10 am following a cardiac arrest, hospital sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had spearheaded the anti-land acquisition movement in Singur, and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury condoled the death of the Marxist leader.
The state government has announced a half-day holiday in educational institutions and offices on Monday as a mark of respect to the departed leader.
The former state Commerce and Industry minister was on life support system after his health condition deteriorated in early December and had been critical since then.
“Sen was fighting kidney ailments. He was impaired by a cerebral attack in 2013,” an official at the hospital said.
Party sources said Sen’s body would be taken to his residence and then to a private mortuary in the city.
His mortal remains would be consigned to flames in Burdwan, his home town, on Wednesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister and ruling Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee condoled Sen’s death. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury described Sen as a “dedicated communist”. (PTI)