Lucknow, April 8 The Uttar Pradesh Congress held a condolence meeting at its state headquarters in Lucknow on Wednesday to pay tribute to veteran party leader and former Union Minister Mohsina Kidwai, who passed away earlier in the day at the age of 94.
Senior party leaders and workers, led by UP Congress Committee president Ajay Rai, offered floral tributes to the deceased leader and observed a two-minute silence in her memory.
According to a press statement, addressing the gathering, Rai described Kidwai's death as "the end of an era" and said her political and social life remained deeply inspiring. He recalled her contribution to strengthening the party in UP, particularly during her tenure as the state Congress chief.
Rai said that it was during her leadership that Nehru Bhavan became the party's own office, adding that even in her final days, she facilitated the transfer of the property in the name of the UP Congress Committee by signing the power of attorney.
"She devoted her entire life to public service and to strengthening the ideology of the Congress party. Her demise is an irreparable loss to the Congress family. Her contributions will always be remembered and her ideals will continue to guide us," he said.
Several senior leaders, including former MLA Shyam Kishore Shukla, Akhilesh Pratap Singh, former minister C P Rai, and Lucknow Congress leaders, were present at the meeting and paid homage to Kidwai.
Kidwai, a senior Congress figure who held key ministerial portfolios under former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, died in a Noida hospital early morning due to age-related ailments.