Bhubaneswar: Former Union Minister Arjun Charan Sethi passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar today. He was 79.

He was the Union Minister of Water Resources in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government at the Centre from 2000 to 2004.

In 1971, he was elected as an MP from Bhadrak constituency as an Indian National Congress candidate. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from the same constituency as an Indian National Congress (I) candidate. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 as a Janata Dal candidate from the same constituency. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 from the same constituency as a Biju Janata Dal candidate.

He was elected twice as an MLA from Bhandaripokhari Assembly constituency.

In 2019, he quit BJD and had joined BJP.

He is survived by two sons.