Veteran Congress Leader Arjun Singh Passes Away

Veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh who is survived by wife Saroj Devi, two sons-Ajay Singh, an MLA in Madhya Pradesh and Abhimanyu - and daughter Veena, breathed his last today at the age of 81.

The former Union Minister has previously served in various capacities including twice as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Besides this, he has also been the governor of Punjab as well as commerce and human resource minister at the centre. He had also made a strong attempt to become the Prime Minister in the mid-1990s.

Singh was admitted to the AIIMS, few days back with chest pain and neuro problems. He complained of difficulty in breathing around 1730 hours, subsequently suffering a cardiac arrest, he passed away at 1815 hours in a New Delhi hospital.

"He was in the hospital for the last 15 days. He was shifted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) yesterday (Thursday). He was suffering from chronic diseases," All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director R.C. Deka said.

"He was on life support," Deka added.

A staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family, Singh was Vice President of the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi in the eighties and played an active role in the Rajiv-Longowal accord.

Dropped from the party's highest policy today, Singh was named a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

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