New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday led the house in paying homage to the late IUML MP E. Ahamed, who passed away early in the morning.

The house observed two minutes' silence to pay homage to the demised sitting member.

Ahamed, a former minister in the UPA government and a long-time Kerala MP from Indian Union Muslim League, was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address on Tuesday. He died early on Wednesday.

The 78-year-old served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. IANS