Former Union minister Digvijay Singh dead

Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Digvijay Singh died in London on Thursday afternoon following a cerebral attack. Singh represented Banka, 265 km from Patna, in the Lok Sabha and was minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Digvijay Singh died in London on Thursday afternoon following a cerebral attack.

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He was 55.

Singh represented Banka, 265 km from Patna, in the Lok Sabha and was minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

In his capacity as president of the National Rifle Association of India, Singh had gone to London with a Commonwealth shooting team.

On June 10, he suffered a heart attack in London and was admitted to a hospital, family sources said. He then had a brain haemorrhage in the hospital.

Singh leaves behind his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter and wife were with him during his treatment in London.

A close associate of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, he served as minister in his government from 1990-91.

A five-time MP, Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 1999. He became a member of the Rajya Sabha

in 1990 and 2004. He won the Lok Sabha seat from Banka independently after being denied a ticket by the Janata Dal(United) in the last general election.

Singh, who belonged to the Rajput community, had fallen out with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before the Lok Sabha elections of 2009 and played a role in the kisan mahapanchayat (farmers’ rally) held in Patna in May.

Nitish Kumar expressed grief at Digvijay Singh’s death. “In his death, not only Bihar but the country has lost a great leader and prominent social worker,” Kumar said and conveyed his condolences to Singh’s brother Tripurari Sharan Singh.

Former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi said his death had created a void that would not be filled. “He was a thinking politician who always fought for changing the system,” they said.