New Delhi:
Veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh, who has had a long and chequered career in Madhya Pradesh as the Chief Minister and as the Union Minister, died in New Delhi on Friday.
Singh (81), who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) a few days ago with chest pain and neuro problems, complained of breathing problem around 5:30 pm. He then suffered a heart attack and breathed his last around 6:15 pm, sources said.
Singh is survived by his wife Saroj Devi, two sons - Ajay Singh, an MLA in Madhya Pradesh and Abhimanyu, and his daughter Veena.
A loyalist of the Gandhi family and considered a shrewd strategist, Singh was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh between 1980 and 1985, and was made the Governor of Punjab just a day after he took oath as Chief Minister for the second time in the state.
Singh became Governor at the height of militancy, and helped a young Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi reach an accord with Akali Dal leader Sant Harchand Singh Longowal.
He had also prestigious portfolios at the Centre as Commerce and Communication Minister in the eighties and HRD Minister under P V Narasimha Rao in the nineties.
A leader, who swore by secular ideals, turned against Rao in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.
Though he did not resign from his government immediately, he later parted ways with Rao and formed a rebel Congress under the leadership of N D Tiwari in 1994.
Singh, who was Vice President of the party under Rajiv Gandhi, rejoined Congress after Rao quit as party President, and later spearheaded the campaign for the ouster of DMK ministers in the United Front government in 1997, over the Jain Commission report. The United Front government under I K Gujral fell in the face of the campaign.