By IANS,
Mumbai : Political leaders from Maharashtra paid glowing tributes to former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who died in Jaipur Saturday.
Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, terming Shekhawat “a great parliamentarian and a visionary”, said that he always had the cause of the poor and downtrodden close to his heart and worked for their uplift.
Describing Shekhawat as a kind-hearted gentleman politician with deep knowledge of grassroots politics, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said “we have lost a fatherly figure”.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minsiter Chhagan Bhujbal said that the country has lost a very popular leader and a statesman who left an indelible mark as the country’s vice president.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Eknath Khadse said that the country has lost “a great visionary renowned for his organisational skills and discipline.”
“We have lost a great leader who always struggled for the rights of the common man,” he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party state unit chief Sudhir Mungantiwar said Shekhawat was one of the pioneers of the Jan Sangh movement and a great pillar of the BJP. “The void left by him will be difficult to fill.”