Dr Ratnakar Pandey was a veteran Indian National Congress leader from
Uttar Pradesh. He was the former
Member of Parliament representing
Indian National Congress in the
Rajya Sabha the upper house of
India's Parliament
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...
. He is referred one of the closest to former Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
,
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
and former UPA Chairperson Smt.
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...
. Pandey, well known for his knowledge of Hindi and its promotion as an official language, was a graduate of
Banaras Hindu University and played a key role in organising World Hindi Conferences abroad. Pandey was also known as a member of the "shouting brigade" in the
Rajya Sabha.
Dr Pandey died on 1 September 2018 after a prolonged illness.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandey, Ratnakar
Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh
2018 deaths
Banaras Hindu University alumni