Former Union Minister Shivraj Patil Chakurkar Passes Away

On 12th December 2025, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil Chakurkar passed away at the age of 90 in Maharashtra’s Latur district following a brief illness.

Patil, whose political career spanned five decades, held several key positions in the Central government, including Speaker of the Lok Sabha and multiple ministerial roles.
Born in 1935 in Chakur, Latur, Patil is credited with introducing technology for broadcasting Parliamentary proceedings and overseeing the construction of the Parliament Library Building during his tenure as the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (1991–1996).
He served as Minister of State for Defence (1980–82), Minister of State for Commerce (1982–83), and later held portfolios such as Personnel, Defence Production, Civil Aviation, and Tourism in the Rajiv Gandhi government.
Patil began his public life with the Latur Municipal Corporation in 1967, later becoming an MLA twice (1972, 1978), and went on to be elected Member of Parliament from Latur for seven consecutive terms: 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999.