Shakti Sinha - Former bureaucrat & close-aide of Atal Bihari Vajpayee - passes away

Former IAS officer and close aide of ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shakti Sinha, passed away on Monday. Taking to Twitter, several political leaders and government officials expressed shock due to the sudden demise of the scholar. Reportedly, Shakti Sinha was scheduled to speak at a conference on the Geopolitical situation in Ladakh today. 

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Ram Madhav described the deceased scholar as 'a humble and unassuming yet erudite and intellectual being'.

Indian leaders express deepest condolences

The Press Club of India expressed shock while describing the late learner as 'former bureaucrat and Director of Nehru Memorial Library and Museum at Teen Murti, academician and author'. 

BJP leaders including Guru Prakash Paswan displayed solidarity with the deceased's family.

The Ministry of Culture tweeted passing a condoling message to his family and friends. 

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar expressed sadness by asserting, 'We will miss his sharp insights and commitment to the National cause'. 

Who was Shakti Sinha, a close associate of Atal Bihari Vajpayee?

Sinha’s relationship with Vajpayee began in 1980, years before he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Office. He was a fond follower of the former Prime Minister's thought process and speeches. Soon after, in the late 1990s, when he got a chance to work with Vajpayee, he was elated.

An IAS officer from 1979 batch, Sinha worked to establish two institutions - a think tank (Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, at MS University, Vadodara) and an academic Institution of Excellence (Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Delhi).

The late scholar also authored a memoir of that period when he worked with Atal Bihari Vajpayee titled Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India. He was also the former Director of Nehru Memorial Library and Museum at Teen Murti.

Sinha also worked as the private secretary and then the joint secretary of the Prime Minister in the late 1990s. He was also one of the highly powerful officials at the Prime Minister's office during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. Officials starting from Government services to business entities expressed distress over his sudden demise.