Bhubaneswar: Former speaker of Odisha Assembly and renowned writer Sarat Kumar Kar, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Monday at the age of 81.
He was undergoing treatment after getting positive for CIVID-19.
Kar was a member of the ruling Biju Janta Dal ( BJD), he was selected as a Janata Party (Lok Dal) MP in 1977 from Cuttack, he was also elected three times (2000-04, 1990-95 and 1971-74) to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Mahana, he also became Education minister in 1971 in the Buswanath Das lead coalition government.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the demise of Kar and described him as a talented politician and an efficient administrator.
As Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, he managed the House effectively and established a good parliamentary tradition. As a minister in the Odisha government, he has at various times summed up his leadership and administrative experience. As a writer and speaker, Heavenly Kar was revered by all. He had a deep knowledge of Oriya culture. In his condolence message, the Chief Minister said that the state had lost a prominent politician in his absence, CMO, Odisha stated.
The Chief Minister extended his deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed grief over Kar’s demise. “I am saddened to hear the news of the death of Sarat Kumar Kar, a senior politician and former Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, His death has caused irreparable damage to the state’s politics and literature. I expressed my condolences to the bereaved family and wished them well,” he said.