AMN / MUMBAI
Veteran Communist leader and former Lok Sabha Member Roza Deshpande passes away at her residence here on Saturday due to old age. Deshpande, 91, was the daughter of Shripad Amrit Dange, one of the founders of the Communist Party of India. She is survived by a son and a daughter.
Deshpande had taken part in the Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement (the movement for the creation of the State of Maharashtra) and the Goa liberation struggle as a Member of the All India Students’ Federation. In 1974, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bombay South Central constituency. She had also led a campaign to secure maternity leave benefits for working women and served on various Central and State Government Committees on labour problems, particularly those of women workers.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari expressed condolences over her demise. In his condolence message, Governor Koshyari said, he was deeply saddened to know about the demise of thinker and Communist leader Roza Deshpande. He said, Roza carried forward the legacy of social service she had inherited from her illustrious father, late Shripad Amrit Dange.