Veteran Congress leader, ex-union minister Murli Deora dead

Deora 77, died following a brief illness

Veteran Congress leader and former union minister Murli Deora passed away here early Monday following a brief illness, a senior party leader said.

He was 77 and the end came around 3.30 a.m. He is survived by his wife and two sons, including former union minister of state Milind M. Deora.

A former mayor of Mumbai in 1977-78, and later chief or the Congress Party's city unit for two decades, and a four-time Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai South, he was a union minister for petroleum and natural gas and earlier handled communications and IT.

Deora's body will be kept for public darshan at the Mumbai Region Congress Committee (MRCC) office in south Mumbai and the funeral ceremony will be held later this afternoon at Chandanwadi crematorium in the city.