Patangrao Kadam passes away, tributes pour in

Mumbai: Senior Congress leader and former minister Patangrao Kadam (74) died on Friday evening at Lilavati hospital, Bandra (west) due to prolonged illness. Kadam was admitted to the hospital due to renal dysfunction and was put on ventilator support on Monday. He passed away at 9:50 pm. Kadam’s son Vishwajeet is a youth Congress leader.

Kadam hailed from Sonsal village in Sangli. He was considered to be one of the biggest leader from the district. He was the forest minister in the previous Congress-NCP regime. Kadam went on to become a great educationist and founded several educational institutes, including the Bharati Vidyapeeth deemed university.

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi had visited him earlier in the day to inquire about his health.

“He was a loyal Congressman. He helped and played an important role in building the Congress. We have worked together in the cabinet and even as opposition members. He has guided me on several occasions. It is a loss to the party and personally to me,” said leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said.

“We shared good relations for over 20 years. He was a personal friend. He created the university with zero capital. He came from a very humble family. He was a jolly kind of person and we will miss him,” said BJP leader Eknath Khadse said.