Congress leader Harihar Karan dies

“Since my father was on ventilator, his condition had deteriorated after it was removed for about five hours during shifting (to another hospital), due to fire at the hospital (where he was first admitted),” he told reporters.

A six-time MLA from Daspalla constituency in Nayagarh district, Karan was elected for the first time in the sixth assembly elections in 1974. He was also elected from Daspalla constituency in the 7th, 8th, 9th 11th and 12th assembly elections in 1977, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2000, respectively.

He was the health and family welfare minister in the J B Patnaik ministry in 1980.

Karan was also the chairperson of the disciplinary committee of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) in 2013.

The funeral will be held at Swargadwara in Puri. OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik condoled the demise of Karan and said it is a personal loss for him and the party.