3-time Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit passes away at 81

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Three-time Delhi Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Shiela Dixit died on Saturday in New Delhi.

 

She was 81.

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Oh.  Sad.  

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RIP

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Sheila Dikshit, Former Delhi Chief Minister and Congress Leader, Passes Away at 81

The three-time former chief minister was appointed president of the city unit after the incumbent Ajay Maken stepped down citing health issues in January this year.

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit died on Saturday at the age of 81 years, news agency ANI reported.

Dikshit, a veteran politician, was the Delhi party chief during the Lok Sabha elections. The three-time former chief minister was appointed president of the city unit after the incumbent Ajay Maken stepped down citing health issues in January this year.

 

 

 

Despite being an octagenarian, Sheila Dikshit led the party in the Lok Sabha polls and herself contested against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari from the North East Delhi seat. She lost by over 3.66 lakh votes.

The Congress had lost all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the BJP with huge margins. However, under Dikshit's leadership the party managed to push Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates to the third place in five of the seven seats, besides registering a growth in its vote share.

After the Congress' defeat in Delhi, Sheila Dikshit had offered her resignation to the party president but it was not accepted.

"We regret to hear of the passing of Smt Sheila Dikshit," the Congress said in a tweet. "Lifelong congresswoman and as three time CM of Delhi she transformed the face of Delhi. Our condolences to her family and friends. Hope they find strength in this time of grief."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by the Dikshit's demise. "Blessed with a warm and affable personality, she made a noteworthy contribution to Delhi’s development. Condolences to her family and supporters."

A number of politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference's Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party's Mehbooba expressed their grief and offered their condolences.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described Dikshit as "a very and affectionate lady".

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also expressed his shock at the demise. "In her death, the country has lost a dedicated Congress Leader of the masses. People of Delhi will always remember her contribution to the development Delhi during her tenure as Chief Minister for three years," he said in a statement.

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  On 7/20/2019 at 10:47 AM, Kool_SRG said:

Three-time Delhi Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Shiela Dixit died on Saturday in New Delhi.

 

She was 81.

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When I was living in Delhi in 2001, she was the CM I think. She introduced CNG buses which don't rely on petrol. 

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  On 7/20/2019 at 11:20 AM, pittagoda said:

When I was living in Delhi in 2001, she was the CM I think. She introduced CNG buses which don't rely on petrol. 

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Yes she was CM till 2013 from around 1998-99... Considered one of Top CMs at that point of time.

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Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit dead

 

• Sheila Dikshit was admitted to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute on Friday
• Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for 15 years and possibly one of the longest-serving chief ministers of the Congress

New Delhi: Former chief minister of Delhi and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit passed away on Saturday. She was admitted to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute on Friday in a critical state due to cardiac problem.

Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for 15 years and possibly one of the longest-serving chief ministers of the Congress.

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said in a statement that Dikshit was brought to the hospital in a critical condition with cardiac arrest. “A multi-disciplinary team of doctors, led by Dr Ashok Seth, chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, carried out the advanced resuscitative measures. Her condition stabilised temporarily. However, she had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55pm," the statement said.

The 80-year-old Congress leader had undergone a heart surgery in France last year. Ashok Seth had advised that the procedure be performed at the University Hospital in Lille, France, under the care of Dr Thomas Modine.

Sources said Dikshit was undergoing treatment at Fortis Escorts hospital under the supervision of Dr Seth for the past few years. She had undergone angioplasty in November 2012 and was also treated for infection some time ago.

Dikshit had planned a decisive role in the three-term Congress government in Delhi. She had managed to defeat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for consecutive terms, but lost power to Delhi chief Arvind Kejriwal in December 2013.

The veteran politician of Delhi was defeated by Kejriwal in a straight electoral fight in the New Delhi constituency. "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," Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said.

After her electoral defeat in Delhi, Dikshit became the Governor of Kerala in March 2014 and was later made the chief ministerial candidate of Congress in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. However, she later withdrew from the electoral contest after Congress joined hands with the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Dikshit was born in Kapurthala, Punjab, but her schooling and college happened in Delhi. She later completed her masters in history from Delhi University. The former Delhi chief minister was born on 31 March 1938.

She started her political career in 1984 when she became a Member of Parliament (MP) from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. She later represented the constituency again in 1989. She was a union minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government between 1986 and 1989. Her first stint as the chief minister of Delhi started in 1998 when she defeated the BJP.

Dikshit's entry into Indian politics was accidental and also because of her family connections. She was the daughter-in-law of late Uma Shankar Dikshit, a noted activist who had fought against the British during independence struggle. When Uma Shankar Dikshit became a Union Cabinet minister in the Indira Gandhi government, Sheila Dikshit would often help her father-in-law. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognised Sheila Dikshit's political and administrative acumen and made her a delegate of the United Nations Commission on the issue of status of women.

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I’m devastated to hear about the passing away of Shiela Dikshit Ji, a beloved daughter of the Congress Party, with whom I shared a close personal bond.

My condolences to her family & the citizens of Delhi, whom she served selflessly as a 3 term CM, in this time of great grief.

                                               — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 20, 2019

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A sneak peek into her four-decade-old political career:

• Sheila Dikshit first became MP from Kannauj parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh in 1984.
• During the same time, she represented India at the United Nations Commission on Status of Women. 
• She first became Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1986 in Rajiv Gandhi government.
• Dikshit was defeated in the 1998 general elections and in the same year, she became Delhi chief minister for the first time. 
• Sheila served as the Delhi CM for nearly 15 years - from 1998 to 2013.
• In 2014, Sheila was appointed as Governor of Kerala but resigned months later.
• Sheila came under heat for the first time in 2009 after a corruption case was filed against her by advocate Sunita Bhardwaj, a BJP worker.
• Sheila was accused of misusing Rs 3.5 crore received from the central government under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
• The same year (2009), she drew criticism for granting parole to convicted murderer Manu Sharma in the case of Jessica Lal.

The Bhagidari System 

She was instrumental in starting ‘Jan Bhagidari’ or people partnership in December 1998 to promote civic participation in local governance. This system improved the quality, efficiency and delivery of public services. She put India on the global map by giving Delhi the Metro, a string of flyovers and a brand new public transport system.

Delhi Metro

Dikshit will best be remembered for giving Delhi its lifeline – Delhi Metro. The project was stalled for years and Dikshit took this problem to PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who immediately agreed to it telling her to implement the plan immediately. 

On December 24, 2002, the first section of the Metro between Shahdara and Tis Hazari (now Red Line) was inaugurated by Vajpayee and was opened for public use the next day.

Flashback

Dikshit's entry into Indian politics was purely coincidental. A reluctant politician, she assisted her father-in-law Uma Shankar Dikshit, a renowned activist during India's independence struggle and a union cabinet minister in the Indira Gandhi cabinet. Gandhi acknowledged her administrative skills and nominated her as an Indian delegate to the United Nations Commission on the issue of the status of women.

Dikshit underwent heart surgery in France last year. Ashok Seth, chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart institute had advised that the procedure be performed at University Hospital in Lille, France under the care of Dr Thomas Modine.