Former Home Minister Buta Singh passes away; Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi condole his demise

86-year old Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Buta Singh passed away on Saturday. The senior Congress leader was in a coma since October last year when he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Buta Singh's son Arvinder Singh Lovely Sidhu took to Facebook to inform about his father's death.

Buta Singh, son's post in Punjabi can be roughly translated into: "My father, Buta Singh passed away today morning. May Waheguru bless his soul."

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PM Modi condoles Buta Singh's death

While expressing his grief over the death of former Union Home Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences to Buta Singh's family. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, "Buta Singh was an experienced administrator and effective voice for the welfare of the poor as well as downtrodden. Saddened by his passing away. My condolences to his family and supporters."

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Extending condolences to his family and supporters, President Ramnath Kovind on Saturday said, "in the passing of Shri Buta Singh, the country has lost one of the longest-serving parliamentarians with rich administrative experience. He championed the cause of the oppressed and marginalized." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Buta Singh dedicated his life serving poor and downtrodden. He added, "He served the nation in several capacities. Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti."

Arunachal Pradesh MP Kiren Rijiju said, "My deep condolences on the sad demise of former Home Minister Sardar Buta Singh. His service to the nation will always be remembered. I pray to God to give strength to his family & friends."

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Who was Buta Singh?

Buta Singh fought his first elections as an Akali Dal member and joined the Indian National Congress in the 1960s. He was first elected to the third Lok Sabha in 1962 from the Sadhna constituency in Rajasthan.

He subsequently held many positions including those of the Union home minister and Union agriculture minister. Singh was the chairperson of the National Commission For Scheduled Caste from 2007 to 2010. He also authored a collection of articles on Punjabi literature and Sikh history and wrote a book Punjabi Speaking State: A Critical Analysis.

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