KOLKATA, Nov 6 � Former West Bengal Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray tonight died at his south Kolkata residence after a protracted illness, reports PTI.
He was 90 and survived by his wife Maya Ray.
�Ray was ill for quite a long time and had been on dialysis since March. The end came about 6:50 pm,� his confidential assistant M Kaviraj told PTI.
Ray, a close friend of former chief minister late Jyoti Basu, was elected as the chief minister in 1972.
The Congress veteran, a former Punjab Governor, had also served as the Indian Ambassador to the US.
A confidant of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 70s, he was appointed union minister (in-charge of West Bengal affairs) by her in 1971.
Ray was a grandson of revolutionary freedom fighter Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das. � PTI