Balasaheb aide & 1st Sena Maha CM passes away

FORMER Maharashtra chief minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi passed away on Friday morning. He was 86 and is survived by his son and two daughters. After a heart attack, Manohar Joshi was admitted to private hospital in Mumbai where he breathed his last early Friday morning.

- SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI

A former Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi was Shiv Sena's suave face at a time when the party was known for its rustic and street politics.

Joshi's last rites were performed with full state honours in the presence of former chief ministers Sharad Pawar, Sushilkumar Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray. Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Joshi was a veteran leader who spent years in public service and held various responsibilities at the municipal, state and national levels.

As Maharashtra CM, he worked tirelessly for the state's progress and also made noteworthy contributions as a Union minister, the PM said.

During his tenure as the Lok Sabha Speaker, he strove to make parliamentary processes more vibrant and participative, the PM said. Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who was a member of the Maharashtra ministry when Joshi was the CM, said the state had lost a cultured face of politics.