Three-time Delhi chief minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit passed away Saturday afternoon at a private hospital here after suffering a cardiac arrest, doctors said.
She was 81.
Dikshit breathed her last at 3.55 pm at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.
She was brought to the hospital Saturday morning in a "critical condition with cardiac arrest", a Fortis Escorts statement said.
"A multi-disciplinary team of doctors, led by Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, carried out the advanced resuscitative measures. Her condition stabilised temporarily. However, she had another cardiac arrest and despite all the resuscitative efforts, passed away at 3:55pm on July 20, 2019," it said.
The Delhi unit of the Congress said that her body has been kept at her Nizamuddin East residence and the last rites would be performed on Sunday at the Nigambodh ghat.
Dikshit was president of Delhi Congress. She served as Delhi's chief minister for 15 years from 1998-2013.
Known as a warm and affable politician, Dikshit carried out massive infrastructure development of Delhi during her tenure. She also launched a number of social welfare schemes with involvement of resident welfare associations as part of her participatory model of governance.
BIRTH DETAILS
Sheila Dikshit was born on March 31, 1938 in Kapurthala, Punjab.
FAMILY
She was married to late Vinod Dikshit who worked as an officer in the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). She is survived by one son, Sandeep Dikshit, and one daughter, Latika Syed.
ACADEMICS
She completed her schooling in the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi, Masters in History from Miranda House College and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Delhi.
POLITICAL CAREER
Her entry into politics was accidental. Late Uma Shankar Dikshit, her father-in-law, was a cabinet minister in the Indira Gandhi government. Indira Gandhi acknowledged her administrative skills and nominated Dikshit as an Indian delegate of the United Nations Commission on the issue of status of women. This marked her entry in Indian politics, which led her eventually to become the chief minister of Delhi.
POSITIONS HELD
Chairperson of Young Women’s Association in the early 1970s.
Represented India at the United Nations Commission on the status of women from 1984 to 1989.
MP from Kannauj constituency of Uttar Pradesh from 1984 to 1989.
Member of the Lok Sabha's Estimates Committee.
Chaired the Implementation Committee formed to commemorate forty years of Indian Independence and the centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Union minister from 1986 to 1989, handling two positions as minister of state in the prime minister's office and for parliamentary affairs
Chief minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013.
Governor of Kerala from March - August 2014.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
She was awarded the Best Chief Minister of India by the Journalist Association of India in 2008.
Honoured with Politician of the Year award by the NDTV.
Awarded with Delhi Women of the Decade Achievers Awards by Assocham in 2013.
CONTROVERSIES
In 2009, she was accused of misusing funds sanctioned by the central government for personal advertisements. In 2013, she was found guilty by the ombudsman court, which ordered an FIR against her.
In 2009, she was criticized when she recommended parole to Manu Sharma, who is convicted for a life sentence for murdering Jessica Lal.
In 2010, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) allegedly accused her of corruption and irregularities related to street-light equipment that were imported during the Commonwealth Games.
TRIVIA
Sheila Dikshit’s father-in law, Late Umashankar Dikshit, was an activist, Union Cabinet Minister and a former Governor.
She served as the chief minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms.
She was the second female Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj.
She was jailed for 23 days in 1990 along with her 82 colleagues by the Uttar Pradesh government for leading a drive against the violence committed on women in the state.
Compiled by DNA-Research N Archives
