Thaindian News

New Delhi/Jaipur/Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Rajasthan Governor Prabha Rau passed away Monday after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Jodhpur House guesthouse in the national capital. She was 74.
Rau, a former Maharashtra minister, is survived by two daughters.

The Rajasthan government has declared a seven-day state mourning April 26-May 2. The cremation is to be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Wardha district in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region to which her family belonged. The Rajasthan government has declared Monday and Tuesday as holidays.

Rau collapsed in the toilet of the guesthouse and was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) around 11 a.m., officials said. Doctors pronounced her dead at about 12.30 p.m.

“When she didn’t open the door for a long time, her assistant knocked and found her on the floor. She died of cardiac arrest,” said G.N. Bhat, joint director (information) of the Rajasthan government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in mourning Rau’s death.

In a message to her daughter Sanyogita Morarji, the prime minister described Rau as an outstanding public figure and an ideal constitutional functionary.

“All her life, she worked for the welfare of the people of our country and of Maharashtra,” he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and speaker Deependra Singh Shekhawat expressed grief.

Rau took over as governor Jan 25, 2010, shortly after her predecessor S.K. Singh passed away while in office on Dec 1, 2009. She is the fourth governor of Rajasthan to die in office.

Born on March 4, 1935 in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, she belonged to a family of freedom fighters. She was also the governor of Himachal Pradesh.

A Congress party member, she was elected to the Maharashtra assembly six times and to the Lok Sabha in 1999.

She was a cabinet minister in Maharashtra four times, and held the portfolios of revenue and cultural affairs, cooperation and tourism, education, sports and youth affairs.

Rau was also chairperson of the Maharashtra Rifle Association.

Congress leaders from Maharashtra paid rich tributes to Rau.

Former chief minister and union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said: “The Congress has lost a veteran politician. She was an extremely disciplined leader and tried hard to imbibe the discipline in Congress workers. She worked very hard to see that the Congress reaches new heights.”

Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde: “She was a visionary politician. She always struggled for the welfare of the common man. She was a motherly figure to all Congresssmen and her loss is irreparable.”

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan described Rau as a “respectable leader who had dominated the political firmament of Maharashtra for almost three decades.

“She was a dedicated organisation person and had done remarkable work of building the party. She had represented the people of Maharashtra, both in the state legislature and in parliament with distinction.”