Former union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who recently announced his resignation from the RJD founded and headed by Lalu Prasad, passed away at AIIMS, Delhi on Sunday, a close aide said. The 74-year-old leader died around 11am due to breathlessness and other complications, Kedar Yadav, who remains by the side of the septuagenarian, told PTI over phone.
He is survived by two sons and a daughter, he said. Singh's wife had died earlier.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to condole his death.
“The passing away of Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is tragic. An outstanding leader rooted to ground, Raghuvansh Babu was a true stalwart with phenomenal understanding of rural India. With his spartan and sagely lifestyle, he enriched public life. Condolences to his family & followers,” the President said.
“Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s death has left a deep void in Bihar and national politics,” PM Narendra Modi said on death of former Union minister.
The body of the 74-year-old leader will be brought to Patna for performance of the last rites, the aide said.
Singh had fallen critically ill late Friday night and was put on a ventilator in ICU in the AIIMS, Yadav added. He had been admitted at AIIMS, Delhi for about a week after developing post-COVID complications.
Singh had resigned from the primary membership of the party on Thursday and followed it up with an open letter, a day later, addressed to Prasads arch rival and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, triggering speculations about his future moves.
A staunch loyalist of the RJD supremo whom he supported in thick and thin, Singh ran afoul with the party a few months ago when murmurs about mafia don turned politician Rama Singh, his rival in Vaishali Lok Sabha constituency, led him to resign from the post of the national vice-president. A cabinet colleague of Prasad in the Manmohan Singh government, Singh thereby stymied Rama Singh’s entry into the party and although he did not give up the primary membership at that time, he stayed away from the RJDs day to day affairs which was attributed, in part, to his ill-health.