Vishnu Kant Shastri

BJP's 'pundit' Shastri dies of heart attack in train to Patna

Staff Reporter / New Delhi

Eminent scholar and senior politician Vishnu Kant Shastri died of heart attack in Patna bound Howrah-Danapur Express on Sunday. The 76-year-old Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran and former Uttar Pradesh Governor was on his way to deliver a spiritual discourse on Bhagavad Gita.

Shastri, in the morning, collapsed and died inside the toilet of the train, he was travelling in. The toilet was broken open by his attendants who apprehended something wrong as Shastri did not respond to their call for a long time, BJP sources said.

His body was later taken to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for autopsy before being brought to the State BJP headquarters. Prominent politicians including the party's national Vice-President Sushil Kumar Modi offered tributes to the departed leader. His body was flown to Kolkata this afternoon by a Border Security Force (BSF) helicopter for cremation on Monday.

Remembering the legend, Bharatiya Bhasha Sammelan Chairman Ved Pratap Vaidik said, "He was one of the brightest stars of the Hindi world. His sudden demise has come as a rude shock. He was a writer, critic and an orator par excellence. His personality was the shining example of maintaining high moral status in politics."

Shastri became the member of the West Bengal Assembly in 1977 and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha. He took over as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh while he was serving as the vice-president of the BJP at the national level.

Besides translating several Bengali and Hindi books, Shastri, who was popularly known as "pundit" also authored several books in Hindi. Books edited by the renowned writer include "Darshak aur aj ka hindi rangmanch" "Balmukund gupt: ek mulyankan," "Bangladesh: sanskriti aur sahitya" and "Tulsi Das: Aj ke sandarbha mein".

Shastri retired as "Acharya" of Hindi department of Calcutta University in 1994 prior to becoming Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.