Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (AM)
Bengaluru, Nov 25: Veteran Congress leader and former Railway Minister C K Jaffer Sharief, passed away on Sunday, November 25. He was 85.
He was was hospitalised after he collapsed while getting into the car for Friday namaz. He was admiited to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Fortis Hospital on Cunningham Road.
It is said that doctors had advised Sharief to get a pacemaker two years ago, when he had complained of uneasiness in the chest.
According to one of his associates, the former minister was too stressed out of late as he was busy preparing for the release of the Urdu translation of Moulana Abul Kalam Azad’s ‘India Wins Freedom’.
He is survived by a son and two daughters.
A seven-time Lok Sabha member, Sharief, started his career under later Karnataka CM and Lingayat strongman S Nijalingappa. After a split in the Congress, he took the side of Indira Gandhi.
As Railways minister, he was instrumental in gauge conversion of railways across the country and played a vital role in the development of rail network in Karnataka. He was also instrumental in getting the Railway Wheel and Axle plant in Bengaluru.