31 August,2020 05:52 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Former President Pranab Mukherjee
Former President Pranab Mukherjee, who had tested positive for coronavirus, passed away on Monday. He was admitted to Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi in a critical condition and was on ventilator support. Earlier in the day, doctors had said that he was in a septic shock due to lung infection.
Informing about the demise of his father, Abhijit Mukherjee tweeted that Pranab Mukherjee passed away inspite of the best efforts of doctors.
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The former President, 84, underwent life-saving emergency surgery for a brain clot and his health worsened later. It was found that he had a large brain clot, for which he underwent the emergency procedure.
On August 10, Mukherjee had tweeted: "On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID-19 today. I request the people, who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self-isolate and get tested for Covid-19."
In August 2019, Mukherjee was conferred with highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna by President Ram Nath Kovind at a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Born on December 11, 1935, in a Bengali family in Mirati, a village in Birbhum district in West Bengal, Mukherjee completed his Masters in Political Science and History and LLB degree from University of Calcutta.
Mukherjee's life-long political career spanned about five decades, during which he held various key posts in the Congress as well as in the governments-led by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
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He served as India's 13th President from 2012-2017, but prior to his election to the post, Mukherjee also served as the Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.
As Finance Minister, Mukherjee signed the letter appointing Manmohan Singh as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to pay his tributes to Mukherjee. "India grieves the passing away of Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee," Modi tweeted.
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