Former Union Minister and ex—BCCI president NKP Salve died early Sunday morning at a private hospital in Delhi due to age—related problems, family sources said.
He was 90.
The veteran Congress leader is survived by his son Harish Salve, an eminent advocate, and daughter Arundhati. His wife had died a few years ago.
He was admitted to the hospital a few days ago, where he passed away, the sources said, adding the body will be taken to Nagpur and the burial will take place on Monday.
Born in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, Salve was associated with cricket administration for several years and had brought the cricket World Cup to the Indian sub—continent in 1987, the first time it was organised outside England.
The Challenger Trophy was named after him.
Salve, a politician, intellectual and a cricket administrator rolled into one, was a strong votary of separate state of Vidarbha to be carved out of Maharashtra. He and another Congress veteran, Vasant Sathe, had even floated a group to press the demand.
As a Congressman, he first represented Betul Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, and later became a Rajya Sabha member. He served in successive Union Cabinets of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao.
Salve was also the President of Vidarbha Cricket Association, before taking over the reins of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), succeeding Barrister S K Wankhede.
Leaders across political spectrum expressed grief over demise of the veteran Congress leader. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said Salve’s “extensive political life and the work done by him will always remain inspirational.”
BCCI President N. Srinivasan condoled the death of Salve, saying that his contribution to Indian cricket would never be forgotten.
“The passing away of Mr. N.K.P. Salve has come as a shock to us. His contribution to Indian cricket, as President of the BCCI, can never be forgotten. It was during his tenure that we won the World Cup for the first time, in 1983,” Srinivasan said.
“It was also due to his initiative that the World Cup was co—hosted by India and Pakistan in 1987. Thus, he was responsible for the World Cup becoming the ‘global’ event that it is today,” he said.
AICC general secretary Vilas Muttemwar remembered Salve as an “honest politician and a thorough gentleman”.
“Salve was a cultured person and was well versed in English, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu. He had great aesthetic sense and was a nature—lover,” he said.
“In his (Salve’s) death, the movement for separate Vidarbha state has suffered a huge setback. His contribution to the Vidarbha movement was great, and region has lost a great leader of his stature,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari said in his condolence message.
Salve was a Chartered Accountant by profession and film actor Dilip Kumar was one of his clients. His son Harish Salve is an eminent lawyer, while daughter Arundhati runs a school in Nagpur.
