Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities today paid rich tributes to Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde, who died following a road accident, calling him 'a great minister' and 'fine human being'. Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, actors Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Anupam Kher among others took to twitter to express their grief over the sudden demise of the 64-year-old politician.
"Its very sad to hear the news of the demise of Gopinath Mundeji. He was not only a great minister but also a good person. We had family ties. May God give his family the courage to overcome the loss and may his soul rest in peace," Mangeshkar wrote.
Poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar tweeted, "The sudden demise of Mr Munde has come as a shock to every one. My condolence to the family and friends. Singer Asha Bhosle said Munde was a friend to her. "Condolences to Gopinathji's family. Deeply saddened to hear this news. He was a good friend and well wisher," posted Asha.
Munde died apparently of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during a road accident early this morning. "Tragic! Gopinath Munde, a fine human being and leader has 'passed away'. The nation mourns his loss," Mahesh Bhatt tweeted.
Riteish posted an old picture of him with his father and Pramod Mahajan. "Am shocked beyond words- Apart from being a big leader for me Mundeji was my father's closest friend- an unfathomable loss," he posted.
"Deeply saddened to hear of the untimely demise of the stalwart of Maharashtra Gopinath Munde. My prayers and condolences to Pankaja &the family," Oberoi tweeted. Kher said, "So so sad to know about Gopinath Mundeji's sudden demise. He was a good man. Always ready to help. May his soul rest in peace."
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha is deeply saddened by his death. "Shocking to know about the demise of my friend Gopinath Mundeji, my heartfelt condolences to his family," he wrote.
Actor Shreyas Talpade said, "Utterly sad and shocking... Life cannot be more cruel... RIP Mundeji."
"Shocking and sad news of the untimely demise of Shri Gopinath Munde .... Really sad... Not his time to go..," tweeted Tandon. For celebrities like Satish Kaushik and Atul Kulkarni,
Maharashtra has lost a 'great leader'.
"With Mr Munde's demise Maharashtra has lost a great human being and a leader..," Kaushik wrote. Kulkarni tweeted, "Pramod Mahajan,Vilasrao Deshmukh,
Balasaheb Thakre, Gopinath Munde. Maharashtra politics is changing at the hands of death rather than people."
Filmmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar tweeted, "Shocked to hear about Mundeji. Will miss his rare combination of admirable leadership skills with a down to earth yet vibrant personality."
