Veteran BJP leader Dattaji Chirandas, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, died at the civic-run SVP Hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city in the early hours of Wednesday, family sources said. Dattaji, 80, died within two days of developing symptoms of the infection, the deceased leader's son Sunil said.
Condoling the veteran leader's death, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, "I am pained by the demise of Gujarat BJP's veteran leader, guide and the state unit's former general secretary Dattaji Chirandasji. His political and social contribution will continue to inspire all of us."
Dattaji was not active in the party or politics for many years. In the Suresh Mehta government in 1995-96, he served as a chairman of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. "He had a fever and a cough on Monday, following which we got him tested for coronavirus. He was at home, as the results were pending and his condition was also stable. But we rushed him to SVP Hospital on Tuesday night after his health deteriorated," Sunil said. The test report indicating that Dattaji had contracted the infection, came on Wednesday morning, hours after his death, he said.
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