Vasant Sathe

Gurgaon, Sept. 23 (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Vasant Sathe died in Gurgaon tonight of a heart attack. He was 86.

Sathe complained of chest pain late in the evening and was taken to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead. He breathed his last at 7.50pm, a doctor said.

Sathe, a lawyer, was the Union minister for information and broadcasting in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet.

President Pratibha Patil said: “I’m saddened by Shri Sathe’s death.”

“Vasant Sathe was a senior party leader known for his frank views,” AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

Sathe was born on March 5, 1925, in Nashik. He made his debut in the Lok Sabha from Akola in 1972.

As the information and broadcasting minister, he was untiring in his efforts to introduce colour television in India before the 1982 Asian Games.

He was also instrumental in clearing bottlenecks in the filming of Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

He is survived by daughters Suhas and Suniti and son Subhash.