Former Bharatiya Janata Party legislator and former deputy speaker of Goa Assembly Vishnu Surya Wagh (53) died on February 8 at Cape Town in South Africa, after a prolonged illness.
An eminent writer and a multi-faceted personality, who has several books and plays to his credit, Wagh suffered a heart attack in August 2016 and was bed-ridden.
Wagh, represented St Andre constituency in North Goa and did not contest the 2017 Goa Assembly elections. In a message sent from South Africa on Wednesday, his wife Aruna Wagh said he died peacefully. His body is expected to arrive in Goa on Friday, for final rites.
Family in the dark
On receiving news of the death, his younger brother and BJP leader Ramrao Wagh questioned why the entire family was kept in the dark in the matter.
“I have expressed doubts over the delay in the announcement of his death. We, being family members, would like to know the facts, especially why there was a delay in announcing that he had passed away,” said Mr. Wagh indicating a public spat between his late brother’s wife and the immediate family.
Within hours of Ms. Wagh’s message to friends and on a few Whatsapp groups on Wednesday about Vishnu Wagh’s death on February 8, his younger brother Ramrao and two other siblings said in a Facebook post: “The family was unaware that Vishnu was being flown to South Africa despite his deteriorating health.”
In her message Aruna had said: “Vishnu Surya Wagh, 53, passed on(sic) peacefully on February 8 in South Africa while he was on a tour to Cape Town and Johannesburg as per his wish and desire”.
Mr. Ramrao Wagh told The Hindu on Thursday, “I am trying to find the facts leading to these circumstances. Our family needs support at this moment. I can only tell you that I know as much as you regarding the loss of my dear brother. We were not aware nor informed that he had been taken to South Africa and the further happenings. Hope, details will be out in due course of time.”
When asked if he had formally asked for an inquiry about the reasons for delay in declaring death? Mr. Wagh said, “Will be doing so if needed.”
The issue has been going viral on social media platforms after Kaustubh, a nephew of Vishnu Wagh, tweeted, “It is with deep sadness we wish to inform you that we have been kept in dark about the news of his death and whereabouts of Vishnu Wagh. We want to know what exactly happened there, the sequence of events.”
“We did not have any information of his being taken to South Africa while his health was deteriorating. Apart from grappling with the loss we are also trying to gather facts about his death and would like to express our concern about the manner in which the persons who accompanied him to South Africa chose to reveal this matter to public, five days after the actual death, bypassing close family members and relatives,” the message posted from a Facebook post, read.
Mr. Ramrao said he has asked the State to check the sequence of events and how it all unfolded and more importantly the medical reports.
Vishnu Wagh, a leading multilingual writer and a multifaceted personality got a massive heart attack in 2016 but recovered from it. He was then Dy Speaker and a BJP legislator elected from St. Andre constituency of North Goa.
A a renowned writer, a former journalist and outspoken activist, Vishnu Wagh always courted controversies. He was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 2012 on a BJP ticket, after party-hopping for years, from Shiv Sena to Congress and a brief stint with a regional outfit. In BJP too, he did not have a comfortable relationship with the state leadership.
