The Union Minister was on his way to the Delhi airport when the accident occurred on Tuesday morning
Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident in Delhi on Tuesday morning. Soon after the accident at around 6.20 am, Mr. Munde was rushed to the AIIMS. According to the post-mortem report, the Union Minister had no spontaneous breathing, pulse, BP, and cardiac activitiy. CPR was given for 50 minutes. However, he was declared dead at 7.20 am.
According to senior party leader and Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shipping Nitin Gadkari, Mr. Munde was on his way to the airport when the accident occurred.
Mr. Munde, a senior politician from Maharashtra, was sworn in as the Cabinet Minister for Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Rural Development on May 26.
He was also till recently in the reckoning for the position of Maharashtra Chief Minister.
Mr. Munde was the brother-in-law of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. Born on December 12, 1949 in Bheed, Mr. Munde came from a family of farmers and during his college days was drawn to the students’ movement.
On his website he recalled his college days and says: “ I became a kingmaker of sorts, ensuring victory of members of my group though I did not win an election even once during those four memorable years.”
Mr. Munde was a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for five terms during 1980-1985 and 1990-2009. He was also the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during 1992-1995. He has held the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1995-1999. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014, and served as the Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
Mr. Munde won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Beed Constituency by a margin of 2 lakh, defeating NCP’s Suresh Dhas.
President Pranab Mukherjee condoled the death of Union Minister Gopinath Munde.
Condoling his death Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Condolences to Munde ji’s family. We stand by them in this hour of grief”.
As news of his death began to trickle, condolences began pouring in from political circles.
His body will be kept at the BJP Headquarters to allow people to pay their last respects.
Mr. Munde’s funeral will take place at his village in Latur on Wednesday, Mr. Gadkari said.
Our correspondent Bindu Shahjan adds:
The driver of the killer indica car which hit the minister’s vehicle has been arrested. The car reportedly jumped the signal at the time of the accident.
The post-mortem is on at the AIIMS.