Gopinath Munde dies after road accident; Narendra Modi expresses shock

New Delhi:Rural development minister Gopinath Munde died on Tuesday morning after a road accident in New Delhi, said Union transport minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari.

Munde, who met with an accident around 6:30am, died in AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. “He was brought to the hospital at 6:30am by his driver and personal assistant. His car was hit by another vehicle at the side he was sitting,” an AIIMS spokesperson said.

“When he was brought at the hospital, there was no spontaneous breathing, no pulse and no heart beat,” the spokesperson said, adding that he couldn’t be revived and was declared dead at 7:20am.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said that the exact cause of death would be known only after the post mortem.

Munde’s family members, including late Pramod Mahajan’s children Rahul Mahajan and Poonam Mahajan, are expected to reach Delhi soon.

Munde’s cavalcade was on its way to the Delhi airport. He was scheduled to attend victory rallies in Beed, Maharashtra.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock at the demise of his cabinet colleague. “Extremely saddened and shocked by the demise of my colleague and friend Gopinath Munde. His demise is a major loss for the nation and the government. Gopinath Mundeji was a true mass leader. Hailing from backward sections of society he rose to heights,” Modi said in a tweet.

Munde will be laid to rest with state honours, Gadkari said.

Gopinath Munde was the OBC face of the BJP in Maharashtra and he was a member of parliament from Beed. The party was also considering the possibility of projecting Munde as the face of BJP in the coming assembly elections later this year.

“Mundeji’s death is an irreparable loss to the BJP and he has left a big void in Maharashtra’s political and social life,” tweeted Rajnath Singh, home minister and BJP President.