P.V. Narasimha Rao 1921-2004

NEW DELHI: Former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao passed away here on the afternoon of Dec. 23 after a prolonged battle with cardiac problems. He was 83.

Rao suffered a cardiac arrest in the morning. Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) failed to revive him, unlike a fortnight ago when he was revived even after his heart had stopped beating.

He died at 2.10 p.m. with his three sons and two daughters by his side.

“He was all right till last night, but his health grew progressively worse this morning,” said Maninderjit Singh Bitta, Congress Party activist and his long-time loyalist.

After an emergency meeting of the cabinet, the government announced a seven-day national mourning.

Rao was prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and Manmohan Singh, now prime minister, was his finance minister.

In a statement, Minister of State for Health Panabaka Lakshmi said Rao, a longstanding patient of diabetes and coronary heart disease, had been ailing from “several interstitial lung diseases and congestive heart failure.”

Rao was admitted to the hospital Dec. 10 on complaints of severe chest pain. He improved somewhat, and even spoke to the press while still in hospital after what seems was a miraculous recovery.

However, Lakshmi said he developed a serious respiratory problem that sent him back to to life support systems and dialysis for kidney failure. On Dec. 23 morning, he developed, in medical parlance, “progressive hypo-tension and shock with repeated bouts of cardiac arrhythmias. Though he responded to intervention several times, he later went into a state of cardiac standstill from which he could not be revived,” Lakshmi stated.

Those close to the family said it was yet to be decided whether he would be cremated in New Delhi or in his native Andhra Pradesh.

Both houses of Parliament expressed condolences at the death of the former prime minister and observed silence as a mark of respect to him before being adjourned indefinitely to end the winter session.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described his death as a “personal loss.” “It is a personal loss for me. I sincerely valued his guidance, his advise, his support and his friendship.” Singh said Rao was a true patriot, a nationalist to the core, a visionary, a statesman, a builder, a reformer and a statesman. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee expressed deep sorrow at the death of the veteran Congress Party politician who was known to be close to him.

Another former prime minister, V.P. Singh, and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani also condoled the death of Narasimha Rao, the first prime minister who was not a Gandhi or a Nehru and yet completed a full term in office.