West Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee passes away

The former Kolkata mayor breathed his last at 9:22 PM at Kolkata's state-run SSKM Hospital.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her shock at the passing away of her party veteran who was a Congress party stalwart before joining Trinamool Congress.

"I have seen several disasters in my life, but Subrata da's loss is irreplaceable for me. There won't be another person like him. He was to be released from hospital tomorrow but succumbed to a massive hearth attack tonight. Doctors had tried a lot to save him," Banerjee said after visitng SSKM.

"He was doing well and was about to be released tomorrow, but had severe heart attack tonight. Mamata Banerjee is completely shattered," Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said speaking to reporters.

Mukerjee, who was also a prominent trade union leader when he was with the Congress party, will be cremated on Friday.

Known for his association with the famous Ekdalia Durga Puja of south Kolkata in Gariahat, Subrata Mukherjee was one of the leaders who had good relations with Opposition parties and their leaders, including the Left Front that ruled West Bengal till 2011. He was particularly in good terms with communist stalwart and late West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. 

Mukherjee began his political career as a student and joined the Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of Indian National Congress, in the 1960s.  

Mukherjee was close to late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, along with the late Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi.  

In 1971 and 1972, Mukherjee was elected to the legislative assembly from the Ballygunge Assembly constituency. In 1972, he was appointed as Minister of State in the Siddhartha Shankar Ray ministry as Minister of Information and Cultural Affairs. He also held an additional responsibility as Minister of State for local government.

 In 1999, he joined the Trinamool Congress founded by Mamata Banerjee after she broke away from the Congress.

In recent years he was embroiled in the Narada sting operation controversy where several top Trinamool Congress leaders, including him, were caught on camera taking bribes. 

In May this year, Mukherjee, along with other present and former TMC leaders, was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Narada sting operation. He later got bail from a CBI court.