Updated on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, 00:00 IST

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27: Indian National League (INL) president Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait died at a private hospital here this morning after a brief illness, family sources said.

He was 83.

Sait was admitted to Manipal hospital last Sunday, his grand son Atheeq Sulaiman told here.

An avowed champion of minority rights, Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait was the most potent voice of the Muslim League in Parliament since the 1970s.

A polyglot and gifted orator, Sait played a crucial role in making the presence of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) felt at a national level.

Sait was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala's Kozhikode in 1971 and from Manjery in subsequent elections till the mid-1990s.

He parted ways with the IUML on the vexed issue of its ties with the Congress after the demolition of Babri Masjid.

Sait had then come out strongly against the 'failure' of the then Congress government led by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao to protect the Babri Masjid and wanted the league to snap ties with the Congress.

After failing to carry the league leadership in Kerala with him, Sait left the party and floated the Indian National League (INL). Though Sait wished his party to be a constituent of the LDF, the latter declined to do direct business with the INL.

Known for his spartan lifestyle and a clean record in public life, Sait was endearingly called 'Mehboo-e-Millat' by the party rank and file.

Sait was associated with several Muslim educational institutions and charity. IUML All India president G M Bannatwala expressed profound grief at Sait's death, recalling his long-time association with the departed leader.

Bureau Report