Veteran Congress leader ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury dies

Kolkata, Apr 14 (UNI) Veteran Congress leader and former Railway minister A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury died at a city nursing home today after a protracted illness.

A bachelor, Mr Chowdhury (79) is survived by his brother and a sister. Both of them are Congress legislators in the state Assembly from Malda district.

Born on November 1,1927, the Congress MP from Malda was admitted to a private nursing home here on April 3 after he was flown in from his home town in north Bengal following acute abdominal pain and respiratory problem. He was put on ventilator since then and the end came at 1130 hours this morning following ''multiple organ failure''.

Information and Broadcasting minister Priya ranjan Dasmunsi, who rushed to the nursing home on hearing the news of Mr Choudhury's death, said the former Railway minister's body would be kept at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Bhavan from 1600 hours till 1900 hours to enable the people to pay their last respects. From there it would be taken to the Peace Heaven mortuary where the body would be kept till tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow at 0700 hours, the body would be flown to his home town in Malda before being taken to his residence at Kotwali near Malda town. The last rites would be performed tomorrow evening.

Mr Choudhury, who graduation from Calcutta University and studied law at London and Geneva, was elected to the Lok Sabha for eight consecutive terms from Malda. He became the Union Coal and Irrigation minister in 1980 before taking over the charge as the Railway minister from 1982 to 1989, during which he ordered the creation of Malda as a separate Railway division under the Eastern Railways.

He was also the West Bengal Pradesh Congress President from 1978 to 1980 and became a state minister for two terms between 1972 and 1977. He was also elected to the state assembly for five consecutive times between 1952 and 1972.

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