Former Union Minister Arjun Charan Sethi passed away

Bhubaneswar9/6/20:: Former Union Minister Arjun Charan Sethi passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar today. He was 79. He was the Union Minister of Water Resources in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government at the Centre from 2000 to 2004.

In 1971, he was elected as an MP from Bhadrak constituency as an Indian National Congress candidate. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from the same constituency as an Indian National Congress (I) candidate. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 as a Janata Dal candidate from the same constituency. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 from the same constituency as a Biju Janata Dal candidate. He was elected twice as an MLA from the Bhandaripokhari Assembly constituency. In 2019, he quit BJD and had joined BJP. He is survived by two sons.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep grief at Sethi’s passing away. Describing him as an able administrator, Naveen said during his long stint in public life, Sethi had earned the goodwill of people for his dedicated service. Odisha has lost a political leader of high stature, he said.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan condoled Sethi’s death and said his loss cannot be filled up. National BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda, State unit BJP president Sameer Mohanty and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Pradipta Naik also condoled his death.