Politicians from across party lines visited the Sushant Lok residence of Congress veteran Vasant Sathe, who died of heart attack on Friday evening, to pay their tributes.
The former Union minister was 86. He is survived by two daughters, Suniti and Suhas, and a son, Subhash. Sathe had been living with Subhash since 1996.
Sathe wished his body should not be cremated, but donated to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. His body was donated to AIIMS on Saturday. It will be used by medical students for studies. “His cornea have helped two persons (unknown) see the world,” said Dr (Col) B Kalra, who had been treating Sathe for 11 years.President Pratibha Patil, vice-president M Hamid Ansari and Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda sent condolence messages to the bereaved family. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, too, expressed her condolence through Congress leader Ahmed Patel.Dignitaries like BJP leader LK Advani, senior Congress leaders ML Fotedar, Ahmed Patel, Moti Lal Vora, Union minister Mukul Wasnik, Maharashtra chief minister Prithvi Raj Chavan, former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Desmukh, etc paid tributes to Sathe. The Congress leader's last rites were performed at his residence from noon to 2pm.Sathe had been suffering from heart ailment for 28 years. He had undergone his first bypass surgery in 1983. He also underwent LV Aneurysm surgery, while angiography was conducted thrice. Earlier, too, Sathe had suffered massive heart attacks twice, said Dr Kalra.