Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh died on Saturday at a hospital in Lucknow, reported The Times of India. He was 89.
An official statement from the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, where he was admitted, said that Singh died of sepsis and multi-organ failure. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital on July 4 in critical condition.
Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Mosque demolition took place, was also the governor of Rajasthan between 2014 and 2015. He was accused of criminal conspiracy in the demolition case. He was acquitted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in September along with senior BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti.
Several politicians expressed grief on his demise. “Kalyan Singh Ji gave voice to crores of people belonging to the marginalised sections of society,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. “He made numerous efforts towards the empowerment of farmers, youngsters and women.”
President Ram Nath Kovind said that as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, Singh followed “clean politics” and removed criminals and corruption from the government. “He dignified the offices he held,” Kovind tweeted. “His demise leaves a vacuum in public life. My heartfelt condolences.”
Chief Minister Adityanath has announced a three-day mourning period in Uttar Pradesh. “The body of the great leader would be taken from the hospital to his Mall Avenue residence and on Sunday, his body would be kept at the Vidhan Bhawan as well as the UP BJP office,” Adityanath said.
The chief minister, who visited the hospital soon after Singh’s death, also announced a holiday on Monday, when the BJP leader’s body will be cremated, reported NDTV.
Born on January 5, 1932, Singh became the MLA for the first time in 1967. Since then, he won the Assembly polls several times and also held important posts in the BJP. In 1984, he was appointed the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati also expressed their condolences on Singh’s death.
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