K C Pant passes away

NEW DELHI, Nov 15:
Former Defence Minister and  veteran political leader K C Pant died here this  morning of cardiac arrest.
He was 81.
Pant, who was also the former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, died at his residence here,  his family said.
Defence Minister A K Antony while expressing  profound grief at the death of Pant, said he  would be fondly remembered for having steered the  Defence Ministry at one of the most critical  junctures of India’s history.
Pant was the Defence Minister from 1987  to 1989 when the Indian Peace Keeping Force  (IPKF) was deployed in Sri Lanka as a stepping  stone to the tortuous journey for peace in the  island nation.
During his tenure as the Defence Minister, Indian troops were also deployed at short notice  in the Maldives to abort a coup attempt, in a  clear manifestation of India’s commitment to  promotion of peace and stability in South Asia.
Krishna Chandra Pant, son of noted freedom fighter and  former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Gobind  Ballabh Pant, was born in 1931 in Nainital  (Uttarakhand, then part of Uttar Pradesh).
He studied at St Joseph’s College, Nainital and did his Post Graduation in Science subjects  from Lucknow University.
He later joined politics and became a member  of the Indian National Congress.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the  first time in 1962, then in 1967, 1971 and 1989.
He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1978  and leader of the House during 1979-1980.
Besides defence, he held the portfolios of  Finance, Steel and Heavy Engineering, Home,  Electronics, Atomic Energy and Science and  Technology.
He was the first Chairman of the Advisory  Board on Energy and Deputy Chairman of the  Planning Commission from 2000 to 2004.
Pant resigned from the Congress in 1998  and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
His wife Ila Pant was also elected to the  Lok Sabha and had joined the BJP six years  before her husband. (UNI)

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