Ex-Cong leader Jagjit Singh passes away

Punjab’s former Minister and senior Congress leader Chaudhary Jagjit Singh died of a heart attack on Tuesday morning at a hospital in Jalandhar at the age of 82.Congress leader Virendra Sharma said that Jagjit Singh began to sweat and complained of chest pain around 5 am following which he was taken to a private hospital where he passed away. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Jagjit, a prominent Dalit leader, became an MlA for the first time in 1980.A five-time party MlA, he was local Bodies Minister in Capt Amarinder Singh’s Government between 2002 and 2007. He was also the leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha once.Jagjit's younger brother Santokh Singh Chaudhary is the sitting Congress MP from Jalandhar.

Expressing profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of veteran Congress leader, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal described Chaudhary Jagjit Singh as a “votary of the downtrodden and oppressed sections of the society”.Badal said that Chaudhary Jagjit’s contribution in the welfare of the underprivileged sections of society would be ever remembered by one and all.

Expressing his heartfelt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family, Badal prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength and courage to them to bear this irreparable loss.Mourning the passing away of Congress stalwart, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal described him as a “mass leader in real sense, who spent his major part of his life to safeguard the interests of deprived classes besides their overall development”. He said that his demise has created a void not only in Congress but too in the politics of entire state, which is difficult to fill.

Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia also expressed grief over Chaudhary Jagjit’s demise and shared his heartfelt sympathies with the members of the bereaved family.Former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh also expressed his grief saying that Chaudhary Jagjit’s death was untimely and the party had suffered an irreparable loss. He recalled his personal association with the late leader, which he said went back by years together.

Amritsar MP, while expressing condolences to the family members, assured them that he and his party stood by them in this hour of grief.Congress national general secretary in-charge of party’s Punjab affairs Shakeel Ahmed also expressed profound grief and sorrow over his demise. Ahmed described Chaudhary Jagjit as a “great leader of the downtrodden and oppressed sections of the society”.

All offices of the Punjab government, Boards and Corporations were closed for the second half on Tuesday in the memory of former Punjab minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh.Spokesperson of the chief minister’s office said that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, while mourning the death of the former local bodies minister, had decided to declare a holiday for the second half as a mark of respect to the departed leader.