Former Speaker of Odisha Legislative Assembly Sarat Kumar Kar passed away at a private hospital here on Monday afternoon, his son Sovan Kar informed.
The veteran political leader was 81. He was undergoing treatment at the Care Covid Hospital after being diagnosed with Covid-19. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, among several personalities, mourned Kar’s demise.
Kar had been elected to the State Assembly thrice from Mahanga in Kendrapada district. Born in Cuttack district, Kar had stepped into politics after completion of his higher studies from the Allahabad University in 1964. He was one of the key associates of late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
Kar was a Minister in the Biswanath Das’ Cabinet in 1971. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Cuttack on Janata Party ticket in 1977. He was the Speaker of the Assembly from the year 2000 to 2004.