Politicians condole 'irreparable loss' of Ananth Kumar

New Delhi [India], Nov 12 (ANI): Condolences poured in for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who passed away on Monday morning at around 2 am in a Bengaluru hospital. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had been under treatment for some time. He was 59.
Several BJP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders expressed sorrow over the sudden demise of Kumar and extended their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. Veteran BJP leader L K Advani termed Kumar's death as "an irreparable loss" to the nation. "I extremely shocked and saddened by the untimely demise of Union Minister Shri Ananth Kumar. Such an early age demise is even a bigger and irreparable loss to all of us and the country," said Advani in a statement.
"Ananth Kumar was a very popular, dynamic leader of the poor and downtrodden. He was a remarkable leader, who entered public life at a young age and had tremendous will-power and had carved a special niche for himself in politics. He was a distinguished and outstanding Parliamentarian and had a forceful presence in the House. He played a significant role in the party," he further added in the statement.
Echoing similar views, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "The demise of Ananth Kumar is a great loss to the country, to the state of Karnataka, to the government and my party. He was a leader of very high standing within the BJP. It was under his leadership that the party got its first foothold established in southern parts of India."
Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal took to twitter to express his sorrow, "I am deeply saddened by the news of Shri Ananth Kumarji's sudden demise. Ananthji was respected across party lines and was a guiding light for all of us. My thoughts are with his family in this hour of grief." Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan also paid their condolences to Ananth Kumar.
Expressing his grief over the death of the Union Minister, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called him a leader of the masses, who handled everything with great efficiency. He further paid him a tribute on behalf of the state. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar prayed for the soul of the departed leader and shared a post on Twitter.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "He started as the youth leader, and was a great example for all of us. He was very simple. We will never be able to compensate for this loss." Recalling the initial days of her career, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that she and Ananth Kumar joined the BJP's Yuva Morcha together, and knew each other for a long time. "Ananth Kumar was a dedicated, sympathetic, and hardworking politician. That is a very rare combination to find. We'll miss him in the time to come," she said.
Saddened by the news, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party president and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha said that Kumar was too young to die, and had a long way to go. Kushwaha further said that Kumar's death was not just a loss for the NDA but a great personal loss to him as well.
The Karnataka government has declared a 3-day mourning and one-day holiday in the honour of Kumar. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said the late Union Minister's last rites would be performed with all government honour. (ANI)