Former CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta died in Kolkata early on Thursday at the age of 83. Dasgupta had been suffering from heart and kidney ailments.
Dasgupta is survived by his wife and daughter.
Dasgupta was suffering from lung cancer for last several months, West Bengal CPI secretary Swapan Banerjee said.
"He (Dasgupta) passed away at his home in Kolkata at 6am. He was suffering from lung cancer for quite some time. Due to his poor health, he had relinquished party posts but was a member of CPI national executive council," Banerjee said.
Dasgupta made his name in the trade union movement and was elected as general secretary of the AITUC in 2001.
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Dasgupta first entered Parliament in 1985, being elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.
He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1988 and 1994. Dasgupta won the Lok Sabha election from Panskura in West Bengal in 2004 and in 2009, won the Parliamentary seat of Ghatal.
Dasgupta was an articulate face of the Left, being known as a critic of the UPA government. He was part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee that probed the 2G scam. Dasgupta had accused then prime minister Manmohan Singh of collusion and blamed the CBI for shoddy investigation.
Mourning the death of Dasgupta, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Passing away of veteran leader and trade unionist Gurudas Dasgupta is a big loss for the nation. He will always be remembered for his brilliant parliamentary track record and probity in public life.”
(With PTI inputs)
