India / Kamal Rani's life was dedicated to social work: PM condoles UP Minister's death

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the death of Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Kamal Rani due to the Coronavirus disease earlier on Sunday.

"Saddened by the passing away of Uttar Pradesh Minister Kamal Rani Varun Ji. Her whole life was dedicated to social work. She played an important role in strengthening the BJP in the state. Condolences to her family and supporters at this time of grief. Om Shanti," PM Modi wrote in Hindi on Twitter.

Kamal Rani, who had been a Lok Sabha member twice in the past, was an MLA from Ghatampur in Kanpur, handling the portfolio for Technical Education in the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet. She was among the 18 members inducted in the council of ministers headed by Adityanath on August 21, 2019, the first such reshuffle since the BJP government came to power in March 2017.

उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार की मंत्री श्रीमती कमला रानी वरुण जी के निधन से बहुत दुख हुआ। उनका पूरा जीवन समाजसेवा के प्रति समर्पित रहा। उन्होंने राज्य में भाजपा को मजबूत बनाने में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाई। शोक की इस घड़ी में मेरी संवेदनाएं उनके परिजनों और समर्थकों के साथ हैं।ओम शांति!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 2, 2020

Rani is the first minister in Uttar Pradesh to die after contracting coronavirus. She was 62. On July 18, the minister tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital here. She was later shifted to the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences.

Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly Hriday Narayan Dixit has also condoled the minister's death while Principal Secretary Jitendra Kumar said, "The national flag will be flown at half-mast in the state capital, and in the district on the day of cremation." 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's scheduled visit to Ayodhya on Sunday to review the preparations for Ram Mandir Bhumi Pujan ceremony has been cancelled in the wake of the minister's demise.

Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over Kamal Rani's death and in a condolence message issued on Sunday, he said, "Kamal Rani Varun died on Sunday at around 9.30 am. She was an experienced and capable leader. She discharged her responsibilities with competence. She was a dedicated public representative, who was always working for the welfare of deprived and oppressed sections of the society."

"The information about the untimely demise of my colleague in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Cabinet Minister Smt Kamal Rani Varunji, is disturbing. The state lost a devoted public leader today. My condolences to his family. May God grant the departed soul a place with him," Yogi Adityanath tweeted.