Ramgopal Yadav falls ill midway through GST launch

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav briefly took ill at the midnight star-studded GST launch event at the historic Central Hall of Parliament and had to be assisted out.

He, however, returned in less than 10 minutes to witness the historic launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Samajwadi Party, which broke ranks with opposition Congress, RJD, Left and TMC to attend the one hour event, got front row seat for its leaders.

Ramgopal Yadav, who is the cousin of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, was seated on the front row with an AIADMK leader and midway through the event fell unwell and was escorted out by Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

The SP leader, who is a member of Rajya Sabha, returned to his seat in less than 10 minutes to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi conclude his speech and hear President Pranab Mukherjee's remarks.

After the ceremony got over, some participants went up to Yadav to enquire about his health.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who was a special invitee and seated on the specially erected dais with Modi and Mukherjee, walked up to Yadav and hugged him after the launch event concluded.