Bhubaneshwar, June 8: Arjun Charan Sethi, former Union Minister, passed away at a private hospital while undergoing treatment. He died at the age of 79. He was the Union Minister for Water Resources from 2000 to 2004. Sethi played a crucial role in the development of Bhadrak, from where he was elected eight times to Lok Sabha. He is survived by two sons.

In 2019, he had quit Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his son Abhimanyu Sethi. He was also elected two times as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bhandaripokhari Assembly constituency.

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the demise of veteran Parliamentarian. In his message, Patnaik described him as an able administrator. “During his long stint as an MP and an MLA late Arjun Sethi had earned the goodwill of the people for his dedicated service and commitment. Odisha has lost a political leader, of high stature,” Patnaik said.

Arjun Sethi was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1971 on Congress ticket from Bhadrak constituency and was re-elected in 1980 from s an Indian National Congress (I) candidate. As a Janata Dal candidate, he was again re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991. In 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 he was re-elected to the lower house of the parliament on BJD ticket.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2020 11:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).