Coronavirus: UP Minister Kamal Rani Dies

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Kamal Rani Varun, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died on Sunday at age 62. Kamal Rani Varun had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 18. She died at PGI Hospital in Lucknow battling the viral disease.

Kamal Rani Varun served as the Minister of Technical Education in the Yogi Adityanath government. She was known to be a prominent fighter for women empowerment in Kanpur’s Ghatampur from where she got elected in 2017.

State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath consoled the passing away of the minister. “I express my deepest condolences to the family of Cabinet Minister Kamala Rani Varun. She was #COVID19 positive & was receiving treatment at SGPGI Hospital. She was a popular public leader & a social worker. She worked efficiently while being the part of the Cabinet,” he said.

In his last posts on Twitter, Rani had retweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address from Smart India Hackathon and mourned the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh.

The body of Kamal Rani Varun will be taken to Kanpur from Lucknow according to the COVID-19 protocols where her last rites will be performed.

Rani was also a member of the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha. She served as the member of the Committee on Labour and Welfare and the Committee on Industry from 1996-97. She worked as the member of the Committee on the empowerment of women in 1997. In 1998, she was re-elected to Parliament for a second term. From 1998 to 1999, she served as the member of various committees including the Committee on Official Language, Committee on labour and Welfare and the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Tourism.