Shivraj Patil, Congress leader and former Union Minister, passed away in Maharashtra's Latur. He was 91 years old. He breathed his last at around 6.30 am on Friday, December 12, at his residence in Latur's Deoghar.
Patil had been ill for the past several days and was undergoing treatment at home. He was elected to a Congress leader's seat from Chakur in Latur district. He had won from the Latur Lok Sabha constituency seven times. He was also the Lok Sabha Speaker and a Union Minister.
Shivraj Patil had lost the Lok Sabha seat in 2004. He was appointed to the Rajya Sabha and took over the Union Home Minister's post. Congress and all the workers of its organisation have expressed grief over his demise.
He held several other ministerial positions at the Centre, including Defence, Commerce, Science and Technology, Civil Aviation and Tourism. He also served as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
During his tenure as the Union Home Minister, Mumbai faced a major terrorist attack in 2008. Many innocent people were killed in the assault on 26 November, and several senior police officers lost their lives. The opposition held the government responsible. Patil resigned from the post of Home Minister on 30 November 2008, accepting moral responsibility for the attack.
Shivraj Patil Chakurkar’s political journey spanned several decades, starting from his tenure as Mayor of Latur and extending to multiple ministerial roles at the central level, including Governor of Punjab.