Bengal CPM veteran dies

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and noted economist Biplab Dasgupta died at his Kolkata residence this afternoon. He was 65 and is survived by his...

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and noted economist Biplab Dasgupta died at his Kolkata residence this afternoon. He was 65 and is survived by his wife Arati Dasgupta, a CITU leader, and son. Dasgupta had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the last three years.

Today, about an hour after lunch, Dasgupta began to cough incessantly and collapsed. The doctors, who were called immediately, declared him dead.

‘‘He was explaining some things to me when he began to cough violently. Soon he collapsed,’’ said Debasish Mitra, a senior editor of Nandan, the CPI(M)’s literary organ which was edited by Dasgupta.

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The funeral will take place on Tuesday after Dasgupta’s son arrives from London. The body will be kept in front of the State CPI(M) office at Pramod Dasgupta Bhavan on Tuesday for public to pay their last respects before it is taken to the Keoratala burning ghat for cremation.

Dasgupta was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1992. A student of Calcutta University, Dasgupta got a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. He taught at several universities, including London University, Sussex University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Calcutta University.

Dasgupta was a founder member of the Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Kolkata and a former member of the CPI(M) central committee and West Bengal State Committee.