Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora passes away at 93

Known as Gandhi family loyalist, the veteran leader's political career spanned many decades and he was a prominent part of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) till he was replaced due to advancing age.

On Vora's demise, the Congress President Sonia Gandhi released a statement:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hon'ble Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi's condolence message on the demise of Shri Motilal Vora. <a href="https://t.co/T6SdNyHABT">pic.twitter.com/T6SdNyHABT</a></p>— Congress (@INCIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/1341013049856110598?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">December 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vora began his political stint as a Congress councillor, following which he became the Chief Minister, Union Minister, Governor and Congress treasurer. He demitted his Rajya Sabha term in March this year and said,"On the last day in the Upper House, I want to bow and salute the people of Durg, formerly part of undivided Madhya Pradesh. I started my political stint as a councillor with Indira ji ( former PM Indira Gandhi), tried to serve the people as the MP Chief Minister and Union Minister. I am thankful to the Gandhi family and am always ready to serve the Congress."

Despite being in the race for ministerial post many times, Vora was retained as Congress treasurer because Sonia Gandhi so deeply trusted him.

While recalling his political journey, Vora said he also served as a journalist for a short span in Rajasthan before joining politics.

During his last days, the Congress veteran was very active politically and kept a close watch on the functioning of the Chhattisgarh government that had recently completed two years. "Under the leadership of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the state government has launched a campaign against malnutrition and positive results have started showing by which more than 77,000 children in the state have become malnutrition-free," Vora had tweeted.

Congress loyalists Motilal Vora and Ahmed Patel were often seen interacting with one another and were regular faces at AICC meetings.

Following Vora's demise, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted,"Vora ji was a true Congressman and a wonderful human being. We will miss him very much. My love and condolences to his family and friends.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his condolence message said that Vora was a true Congress leader with a lot of administrative and political experience.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh offers his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of Shri Motilal Vora. <a href="https://t.co/7i3WisvUke">pic.twitter.com/7i3WisvUke</a></p>— Congress (@INCIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/1341017864812163072?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">December 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

(Based on IANS feed)