Former State Minister and veteran Congress leader Sk Matlub Ali passed away on Thursday. He was 78.
Ali had been admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on September 7 after he complained of illness. He breathed his last while undergoing treatment on Thursday morning.
Ali had been elected to the State Legislative Assembly four times (1974, 1980, 1985, and 1995) from the Mahanga constituency as Congress candidate.Ali was also a writer and associated with several literary and cultural organisations.
He was deeply involved in propagating the essence of works of Ganakabi Baishnab Pani, who belonged to Mahanga.Politicians cutting across party lines, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik and BJP State president Samir Mohanty condoled over Ali’s demise.