PM Modi expresses 'grief' in letter to widow of Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi

In a letter to Renu Jogi - wife of Ajit Jogi - who served as the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh after the formation of the state and died at 74 on May 30 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief while hailing the former CM as an able bureaucrat and politician.

Chhattisgarh:Prime Minister on Tuesday wrote a letter addressed to Renu Jogi, wife of Ajit Jogi - who served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh after the formation of the state and died at 74 on May 30 - expressing his "grief" and extending his condolences.

Copy of the letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Renu Jogi

In the letter dated June 9, 2020, PM Modi states, "I would like to extend my condolences and express grief over the death of Ajit Jogi."

Hailing Jogi both as a bureaucrat and a politician, PM Modi wrote, "Ajit Jogi fulfilled his responsibilities with due diligence and dedication, be it as a bureaucrat or a politician. A simple and accommodative person, Ajit Jogi was known for his tireless labour and community service."

"He always tried to bring about a positive change in the lives of the poor and the underprivileged," the letter reads further.

He concluded the letter by offering his prayer for the soul of the deceased to rest in peace.

The former CM is survived by his wife Renu Jogi, MLA from Kota, and son Amit Jogi.

Jogi, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, suffered a cardiac arrest in May and had been admitted at a Raipur hospital since then. He was in a comatose state all through this period.

Senior Jogi was an MLA from Marwahi seat and helmed the first Congress government from November 2000 to November 2003.

The former chief minister parted ways with the Congress in 2016 and formed Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) after he and his son Amit Jogi got embroiled in a controversy over the alleged fixing of the by-poll to Antagarh seat in Kanker district in 2014.