Former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana died on Saturday after a prolonged illness, PTI reported. He had been unwell since he suffered a brain haemorrhage about five years ago. He was 82.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader was the chief minister of Delhi from 1993 to 1996. He was the first person to hold the post after Delhi’s Legislative Assembly was reinstated through a Constitutional amendment in 1991. Khurana also served as the governor of Rajasthan for about 10 months in 2004.
Khurana had a chest infection and fever for the last few days and was feeling breathless since Saturday morning, his son Harish Khurana told PTI. He died at his home in the city’s Kirti Nagar locality around 11 pm. His last rites were held on Sunday.
The Delhi government announced two days of mourning after his death.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “anguished” by Khurana’s death. “He worked tirelessly for the progress of Delhi, particularly towards ensuring better infrastructure,” said Modi. “He distinguished himself as a hardworking and people-friendly administrator, both in the Delhi government and Centre.”
Modi remembered Khurana for his “unwavering efforts towards serving the post-partition refugees in Delhi”.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah called Khurana “an ideal swayamsewak”, “a dedicated Vidyarthi Parishad worker” and “a strong pillar of the Jan Sangh and the BJP”. The Jan Sangh was a Hindutva-based political party that was a precursor to the BJP. He noted that Khurana was popularly known as the “lion of Delhi”.
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