B. Shankaranand, former Union Minister, passed away at a private hospital here in the early hours of Friday. He was 84 and leaves two sons, including Om Prakash Kanagali, a former Minister in Karnataka, and six daughters. Mr. Shankaranand’s wife, Kamala Devi, passed away in 2001.
The cause of death was acute respiratory distress with septicaemia and renal failure. He was admitted to KLES Prabhakar Kore Hospital here on February 13 with back ache after a fall at his Club Road residence.
Mr. Shankaranand was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times consecutively from Chikkodi (reserved) constituency in Belgaum district in 1996, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989 and 1991. He was a member of the ministries headed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao. The portfolios he held included Social Welfare, Law and Justice, Human Resource Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Petroleum and Natural Gas. He also headed the Joint Parliamentary Committee set up to inquire into charges of kickbacks in the controversial Bofors howitzer deal.
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His body has been kept at his residence in Belgaum for people pay their homage. The last rites will be performed at his native village, Kanagala, in Hukkeri taluk on Saturday morning.