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Regular-article-logo Friday, 22 November 2024

Sheila Dikshit, credited with transforming Delhi, dies at 81

She was Delhi's longest serving chief minister. Leaders across parties tweeted condolences

The Telegraph New Delhi Published 20.07.19, 11:55 AM
Sheila Dikshit

Sheila Dikshit PTI file photo

Veteran Congress leader and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit died o Saturday after multiple cardiac arrests. She was 81.

Dikshit was admitted early on Saturday at Delhi’s Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in a “critical condition” after a cardiac arrest, a statement from the hospital said. “She had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55pm,” the statement added.

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Confirming the news, the Congress said on Twitter:

She was the longest-serving chief minister of Delhi and was in power from 1998 to 2013. She was succeeded by Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Recently, she was appointed the Delhi Congress chief.

She was credited for infrastructure growth in Delhi, the most important of which was the Delhi Metro.

After her stint in Delhi as chief minister, Dikshit was appointed the governor of Kerala but she resigned soon after.

She began her career under the tutelage of her father-in-law, Uma Shankar Dikshit, who was a minister in the Indira Gandhi government.

The news of her death caught politicians from across the spectrum by surprise. Rahul Gandhi tweeted:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply saddened” by her demise:

AAP’s Kejriwal described her death as a “huge loss for Delhi”. “Just now got to know about the extremely terrible news about the passing away of Mrs Sheila Dikshit ji. It is a huge loss for Delhi and her contribution will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to her family members. May her soul rest in peace,” he said.

Kejriwal’s party said on Twitter:

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was among the first to react to the news:

Tweeple from other walks of life also tweeted:

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