Tripura Left leader Braja Gopal Roy.

Agartala: Veteran Left leader and former minister of the first Left Front government in Tripura Dr. Braja Gopal Roy passed away in Agartala following a prolonged illness.

He was 86 and is survived by a daughter and wife.

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Dr Roy, a top Forward Bloc leader and renowned cultural personality, was the last surviving minister of the first Left Front government (1978-1983).

A teacher-turned-politician, Dr Roy, who authored more than 15 books on various literary and societal themes, was a scholar of Bengali literature and a diehard follower of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

He was also a lifelong and founder member of Rabindra Parishad, Tripuraโ€™s top literary-cultural centre, and was always active in literary and cultural activities throughout his life.

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Dr Roy was a minister in the first CPI-M-led Left Front government in 1978-1983 under Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty and again in the third Left government (1993-1998) led by Chief Minister Dasaratha Deb.

Condoling the death, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha in a statement said, โ€œDr. Roy was actively involved both in literary works and politics. He was a very honest personality and his death was an enormous loss to the cultural and literary world.โ€

Former Tripura Chief Minister and opposition leader Manik Sarkar and Left Front convener Narayan Kar condoled the death and highly praised his simple lifestyle and intellectual capability.

Dr Royโ€™s last rites were performed with full state honours on Sunday afternoon at Battala mass cremation ground.