TRIBUTE PAID TO VILASRAO DESHMUKH, UNION MINISTER

TRIBUTE PAID TO VILASRAO DESHMUKH, UNION MINISTER AND MAHARASHTRA FORMER CHIEF MINISTER

Union minister and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh died here Tuesday, 14th August, 2012, after a prolonged illness. He was 67.
Deshmukh passed away around 2 p.m., sources at the Global Hospital said. Deshmukh was awaiting liver and kidney transplants. His family members, including his three sons, were by his side when he breathed his last.On Monday, a person was declared brain dead, giving hope that Deshmukh may survive. Doctors were ready to harvest the organs when Deshmukh's condition deteriorated.Deshmukh, who was union science and technology minister, was rushed to Chennai from Mumbai on Aug 6. He had been in the intensive care unit since. On July 19; Deshmukh was in New Delhi for the presidential election.Both houses of parliament were adjourned as soon as the news of the Congress leader's demise came in.From an obscure village 'sarpanch' to a powerful chief minister and Union minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh was a political craftsman adept at turning challenges into opportunities.Beginning his political journey as 'sarpanch' of Babhalgaon village panchayat in 1974, Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh (67), negotiated the choppy political waters of Maharashtra with elan, becoming chief minister twice before moving over to Delhi as a member of the Union cabinet.Starting out as a panchayat member, Deshmukh was 'sarpanch' of Babhalgaon from 1974 to 1976, member of the Osmanabad Zilla Parishad and deputy chairman of Latur Taluka Panchayat Samiti. As president of Osmanabad District Youth Congress from 1975 to 1978, he vigorously implemented the 5-point programme of the organisation.

Deshmukh was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1980 and followed it up with victories in 1985 and 1990.He held important portfolios of revenue, cooperation, agriculture, home, industries and education as a minister in the state between 1982 and 1995.Deshmukh received a big setback when he lost the elections in 1995 to Shivajirao Patil Kavhekar but came back with a resounding triumph in the 1999 poll when he won by a margin of over 90,000 votes.His political sagacity landed him the coveted chief minister's chair for the first time in October, 1999. He continued in the post from October 18, 1999 to January 17, 2003, when he had to make way for Sushilkumar Shinde, amid growing factionalism in the state Congress.Never known to sulk in a quiet corner, the hard-boiled politician from Latur won the Legislative Assembly polls in October 2004 and was sworn in as chief minister for the second time on November 1 that year.Amid mounting public outrage over the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008, Deshmukh resigned owning moral responsibility and shifted to Delhi taking the Rajya Sabha route.After he entered the Rajya Sabha, he was inducted as Union minister for heavy industries and public enterprises and later as minister for rural development. He was appointed as minister of science and technology and minister of earth sciences on July 12, 2011.Like most politicians, controversies did not spare him too. Deshmukh provoked indignation and was accused of 'terror tourism' when he visited the fire-ravaged Taj hotel with actor son Riteish Deshmukh and filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma soon after the 26/11 carnage.

On February 9, 2012, the Bombay high court ordered Subhash Ghai to return to Maharashtra government the land allotted for his film institute and indicted Deshmukh for 'misusing his official position' as chief minister by showing 'undue favours' to old filmmaker friend.On March 28, 2012, a metropolitan magistrate's court directed the Marine Drive police station to investigate allegations that Deshmukh shielded a Congress MLA accused of torturing farmers to recover loans. Deshmukh's role was also questioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its 2012 Report, which said that as chief minister in 2005, he allotted a 23,840 square metre plot of land in Mumbai to his family-run Manjara Charitable Trust. The market value of the land was Rs 30 crore, but it was allotted for a paltry Rs 6.56 crore. Though not an accused, Deshmukh was also under scanner in the Adarsh housing scam for giving various clearances to the controversial housing society as chief minister.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today condoled the demise of Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh describing him as a trusted colleague and an able administrator.'Mr Deshmukh was a trusted colleague and an able administrator who worked at panchayat, state and central levels with admirable dedication,' Singh said in his message.Deshmukh, Minister without portfolio, was admitted in a hospital for treatment of a liver ailment in Chennai where he

passed away this afternoon.Earlier, he was Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. He was given additional charge of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises (MSME) after resignation of Virbhadra Singh two months back.

                                Prof. John Kurakar