Saddened by Balram Jakhar's death: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, Feb 3: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condoled the death of former Lok Sabha speaker and Congress veteran Balram Jakhar.

Jakhar, 92, had suffered a brain stroke a year ago and died on Wednesday morning.

"Saddened at the passing of Balram Jakhar ji. In my first term as MP, as speaker of the Lok Sabha, he was always very encouraging," Banerjee tweeted.

Balram Jakhar served as the speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989. He also served as Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Jakhar also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from June 30, 2004 to May 30, 2009.

IANS