E-Paper
Kalyan Singh lived for public welfare: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with BJP national president JP Nadda, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, UP governor Anandiben Patel and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, reached Singh’s residence early on Sunday to pay their last respects.
The country has lost a valuable personality and a capable leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, paying tribute to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, who formed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first government in the state in 1991, who died of sepsis and multi-organ failure in Lucknow late on Saturday.
Singh, who formed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first government in the state in 1991, had been undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in the Uttar Pradesh capital since July 4. On Friday, his condition deteriorated, following which he was placed on dialysis. He was 89.
As tributes poured in for the BJP stalwart from across party lines, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with BJP national president JP Nadda, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, UP governor Anandiben Patel and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, reached Singh’s residence early on Sunday to pay their last respects.
“His parents named him Kalyan and he lived up to his name... The country has lost a valuable personality and a capable leader. To fulfil the void left by him, we should do maximum hard work for his ideals, his promises and leave no effort in achieving his dreams,” Modi told reporters after paying his tributes at the Mal Avenue residence of Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandip Singh.
“He lived his entire life for public welfare. He made ‘jan kalyan’ as the mantra of his life, and dedicated his life to the BJP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh family, for an ideology and for the bright future of the country,” he added.
Speaking to reporters, Rajnath Singh said, “We used to tell him (Kalyan) that we are ‘bhootpoorv’ (former) chief minister, you are ‘abhootpoorv’ (unprecedented) chief minister, on which he used to laugh. I have seen him as an elder brother.”
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also mourned Singh’s death.
“He was a tall leader who was always connected to his roots. He faced various struggles and hardships but always battled them. On behalf of my party, I express my deepest condolences and pray for his soul’s peace,” Mayawati said after paying a visit to Singh’s residence..
“He had a special place in the politics of the state. He would always be remembered as an able administrator. His demise has left a void in politics,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a statement.
Singh’s body was later shifted from his residence to UP Vidhan Bhavan and later to the office of the state BJP, where thousands paid their last respects.
On Sunday evening, the body was taken to Aligarh, Singh’s home district, and kept at a local stadium. According to people aware of the developments, Singh’s mortal remains would also be kept in the leader’s hometown Atrauli, and his last rites will be performed with full state honours in Narora town, around 60 kilometres from Aligarh, on Monday afternoon. Uttar Pradesh has announced three-day mourning and a holiday on Monday.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who escorted the veteran leader’s body from the hospital to his residence late on Saturday, said: “It is an irreparable loss for all of us. We have lost a great leader.”
Singh, who was accused of criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case for it was during his tenure as chief minister that the 16th-century mosque was demolished, also served as the Rajasthan governor between 2014 and 2015. He was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished by a mob of “karsevaks” in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Along with BJP veterans LK Advani and M M Joshi, he was among the 32 people acquitted in the demolition case in September last year.
He is survived by his wife Ramvati Devi, son Rajveer Singh, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Etah, and grandson Sandeep Singh, who is the minister of state for finance, technical education and medical education in Uttar Pradesh.
With PTI inputs
