Former Governor MC Bhandare passes away

BHUBANESWAR: Former Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare passed away on Saturday. He was 95.

Born on December 10, 1928 at Mumbai, he had been appointed the Governor of Odisha on August 21, 2007 and succeeded Rameshwar Thakur. He continued in the office until the appointment of SC Jamir on March 9, 2013.

A senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, Bhandare was a member of Rajya Sabha having been elected in June 1980 and re-elected in April 1982 and April 1988. He was chairman of various committees of the Parliament and visited USA, UK, USSR, Germany and several other foreign countries.

As a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, Bhandare was respected as a champion of the causes of the common man. He was the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association for two terms. Governor Raghubar Das and CM Mohan Majhi expressed grief over his demise. In a social media post, Majhi said: “I am deeply saddened to hear about the demise of former Governor Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare. His contribution during his tenure as Governor was very significant. I pray for the eternal peace of his soul.”