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Former BJP president and the first Dalit to head the party, Bangaru Laxman, died in Hyderabad today.
Laxman 74, had been unwell for a long time, passed away in Hyderabad's Yashoda Hospital at around 5 pm due to various ailments.
Bangaru Laxman was president of the BJP between 2000 and 2001 and Union Minister of State for Railways between 1999 and 2000 during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
"I am deeply saddened to hear the news of former BJP president Shri Bangaru Laxman's sudden demise. He dedicated his life serving the weaker sections of the society. My heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family," BJP president Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Mr Laxman was removed as BJP president in 2001 when news portal Tehelka, through a sting operation, showed him taking Rs. one lakh as bribe from undercover journalists in his chamber in the party headquarters to fix a fictitious deal to supply equipment to the Indian Army.
He was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act by a special CBI court and sentenced to four years in jail in April 2012.
