Former Assam minister Nazrul Islam passed away at the age of 73

Former Assam minister and senior Congress leader Nazrul Islam died at a hospital here on Saturday after a prolonged illness. He was 73 years old. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Hospital sources said three-time minister and five-time MLA Nazrul Islam was admitted to the hospital on Friday when his oxygen level fell dangerously. According to sources, he breathed his last in the afternoon.

He was a minister three times from 2002 to 2016 in the cabinet of former chief minister late Tarun Gogoi. Islam has represented the Lahirighat assembly constituency in Morigaon district five times since 1996, while his son Dr Asif Mohammad Nazar won the seat in 2021 on a Congress ticket. He was a doctor before joining politics and did his MBBS from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. In the Gogoi cabinet, Islam held the portfolios of Food and Civil Supplies, Minority Affairs and Health.

Condoling the demise of the former minister, Chief Minister Himanta Vishwa Sharma said that the veteran politician had rendered valuable services in the social and political fields in the state for a long time. Sharma said, 'I pray for the peace of the departed soul and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family members.' State Congress chief Bhupen Bora said in his condolence message that the Congress has lost a dedicated and committed leader. Bora said, 'Islam started his professional life as a doctor but served the society as a politician and we are deeply saddened by his death. We express our deepest condolences to the bereaved family.