Former Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon passes away at 79

Last rites of Akali leader Nirmal Singh Kahlon to be held at his native village of Dadu Jodh in Gurdaspur district on Sunday

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon passed away after a brief illness in Amritsar on Saturday. He was 79.

Former Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon breathed his last at 2am at a private hospital in Amritsar. (Representative Image/HT)

SAD leader Ravikaran Singh Kahlon said his father breathed his last at 2am at a private hospital in Amritsar. The cremation will be held at his native village of Dadu Jodh in Gurdaspur district at 11.30am on Sunday.

Nirmal Singh Kahlon was elected MLA from Fatehgarh Churian constituency in Gurdaspur district in 1997 and 2007. He was the minister of rural development and panchayats from 1997 to 2002 and Speaker of the Punjab assembly from 2007-12. In the 2012 and 2017 assembly elections, he lost to Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa of the Congress in close contests.

A prominent Akali leader from the Majha region, Kahlon was charged in a recruitment scam, but later acquitted by court.

“Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of senior Akali leader & former Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S Nirmal Singh Ji Kahlon. Kahlon sahab was a source of inspiration for all of us. His wise counsel will always be missed. I stand with the Kahlon family in this hour of grief,” Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal tweeted.