Ahmedabad: Urmilaben Patel, former Union Minister and wife of former Gujarat Chief Minister late Chimanbhai Patel, today passed away here following a brief illness, state Congress said in a statement here.

Urmilaben, 85, was suffering from age-related problems. Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled her death. In her message, Gandhi praised Patel for being in the forefront to raise issues related to the rights of the women and the downtrodden, the statement said.