Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was Sonia Gandhi’s top aide, took his last breath on Wednesday, November 25 at 3:30 am. Patel died at the age of 71 due to multiple organ failure. He had also tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing treatment at a Gurgaon hospital.
Grieving the loss, Gandhi family paid rich tributes to the veteran Congress leader on the micro-blogging site. The former party chief, Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condoled the demise in the early hours of the day.
Today, Congress has lost its only non-Gandhi leader who ruled the party without ever being in power or holding a ministerial position.
In his tweet, Gandhi remembered the staunch Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist as "a pillar of the Congress party". "He lived and breathed Congress and stood with the party through its most difficult times. He was a tremendous asset," Rahul Gandhi wrote.
It is a sad day. Shri Ahmed Patel was a pillar of the Congress party. He lived and breathed Congress and stood with the party through its most difficult times. He was a tremendous asset.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 25, 2020
We will miss him. My love and condolences to Faisal, Mumtaz & the family. pic.twitter.com/sZaOXOIMEX
Sonia Gandhi expressed, “I have lost a colleague, whose entire life was dedicated to the Congress Party. His faithfulness and dedication, his commitment to his duty, his always being there to help, his generosity were rare qualities that distinguished him from others. I have lost an irreplaceable comrade, a faithful colleague and a friend.”
Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi’s condolence message on the demise of Shri Ahmed Patel. pic.twitter.com/JiOwjr3j1n
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 25, 2020
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, meanwhile, tweeted: “Ahmed ji was not only a wise and experienced colleague to whom I constantly turned for advice and counsel, he was a friend who stood by us all, steadfast, loyal, and dependable to the end. His passing away leaves an immense void. May his soul rest in peace.”
Ahmed ji was not only a wise and experienced colleague to whom I constantly turned for advice and counsel, he was a friend who stood by us all, steadfast, loyal, and dependable to the end.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 25, 2020
His passing away leaves an immense void. May his soul rest in peace.
Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to say that his role in strengthening the Congress would always be remembered. President Ram Nath Kovind said Patel combined skills of a strategist and the charm of a mass leader.
This morning, Faisal Patel, son of Ahmed Patel, tweeted about his father's death. "With profound grief & sorrow, I regret to announce the sad and untimely demise of my father," he said in a statement.
He had tested positive for the highly contagious coronavirus, which has affected over 92 lakh people in India so far, on October 1. He was admitted to ICU of Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon on November 15 and passed away while he was in the hospital.
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