New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): Former Union Petroleum Minister and close aide of the Gandhi family, Captain Satish Sharma (73), passed away due to age related ailments on Wednesday. Sources said that he was not keeping well for some time now.

Congress Secretary K.L. Sharma, who was close to Satish Sharma, confirmed that the latter passed away on Wednesday.

Captain Sharma was an MP in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and had close ties with the Rajiv Gandhi family. He held the petroleum portfolio during the Narsimha Rao government. In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rajiv Gandhi's constituency of Amethi following his assassination. From January 1993 until December 1996, he was the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Born in Secunderabad in 1947, Sharma was a trained pilot just like Rajiv Gandhi.

Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh tweeted, "Former union minister captain Satish Sharma passed away, may God bless his soul."