New Delhi, Jan 28: Former President R. Venkataraman, who passed away on Tuesday at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, will be cremated today at 4.30 pm near Ekta Sthal in Delhi.
The body is lying in state at 5 Safdarjung Road till 12 pm today to enable the people to pay their last respects.
Venkataraman, 98, was admitted to the hospital on January 12 with complaints of Urosepsis (a toxic condition caused by the extravasations of urine into bodily tissues.
He was suffering from multi-organ failure and was on advanced life support systems including ventilatory support and continuous hemodialysis," an official of the hospital said.
Venkataraman had served as the eighth President of the Republic of India, from 1987 to 1992. He served nearly four years as the 7th Vice-President before being elected as the President.
He was the member of the Indian National Congress party and has held various various ministerial positions in the course of his long and distinguished political career.
Venkataraman also served as the member of the Political Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Union Cabinet, International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Asian Development Bank.
He had served as the leader of the Indian Delegation to the 42nd Session of the International Labour Conference at Geneva (1958) and represented India in the Inter Parliamentary Conference in Vienna (1978).
He was also a Member of United Nations Administrative Tribunal from 1955 to 1979 and then served as its President from 1968 to 1979.
Law and trade union activity led to Venkataraman`s increasing association with politics. He was the member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted India`s Constitution.
He was elected in 1950, to free India`s Provisional Parliament (1950-1952) and to the First Parliament (1952-1957).
During his legislative career, Venkataraman attended the 1952 Session of the Metal Trades Committee of the International Labour Organisation as a workers```````` delegate.
He was a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New Zealand. Venkataraman was also Secretary to the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1953-1954.
Although re-elected to Parliament in 1957, Venkataraman resigned his seat in the Lok Sabha to join the State Government of Madras as a Minister.
Venkataraman was appointed a Member of the Planning Commission in 1967 and was entrusted with the subjects of Industry, Labour, power, transport, communications, and railways. He held that office until 1971.
In 1977, Venkataraman was elected to the Lok Sabha from Madras (South) Constituency and served as an Opposition Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 and appointed Union Minister of Finance in the Government headed by Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was later appointed Union Minister of Defence, before serving as Vice-President and President. (ANI)
Bureau Report
