RSS leaders Mohan Bhagwat, Dattatreya Hosabale pay tributes to Sushil Kumar Modi

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Tuesday paid tributes to former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and said that with his demise, the nation has lost an awakened social worker and a skilled political leader.

Modi, 72, died on Monday night at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. The senior BJP leader was suffering from cancer.

"The sudden demise of former deputy chief minister of Bihar and Member of Parliament, Sushil Kumar Modi, has caused immense grief. Our thoughts are with his family, numerous friends and admirers," Bhagwat and Hosabale said in a joint statement.

"Sushil ji was a committed Swayamsevak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and also served as national general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)," they said.

The top RSS leaders said Modi was always concerned about the nation and its welfare, with a special focus on Bihar.

"With his demise, the nation has lost an awakened social worker and a skilled political leader. He was an ideal example of sincerity and transparency in public life," the joint statement said.

"We extend our deepest condolences on his demise and pray to the almighty to grant strength to the family at this hour of grief and bestow sadgati to the departed soul," it added.

Paying heartfelt tributes to the BJP leader, RSS' media and publicity head Sunil Ambekar said Sushil Modi's contributions to the ABVP, the struggle against the imposition of Emergency and the politics of Bihar were "special".