India’s Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi dies

India’s veteran Congress leader and former federal minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, who was in a coma since 2008, died in New Delhi at the age of 72.

Dasmunshi, who was India’s parliamentary affairs and commerce minister, suffered a massive stroke in 2008 which left him paralysed and unable to speak, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

He is survived by his wife Deepa Dasmunshi, also a Congress leader, and son Priyadeep Dasmunshi.

Dasmunshi represented Raiganj (Lok Sabha constituency) in West Bengal before being succeeded by his wife Deepa.

He had begun his political career with the Indian Youth Congress before entering Parliament in 1971. He became a federal minister for the first time in 1985. He was also the president of All India Football Federation for nearly 20 years.