Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav no more

NEW DELHI: Former union minister and octogenerian Congress leader Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, involved in the 1993 JMM MPs bribery case died at a private hospital here on Tuesady morning following a cardiac arrest. He was 86.

The veteran leader from Bihar had been ailing for some time. He was brought to the national capital from Patna for treatment three weeks ago in a serious condition, but did not respond to medication.

He is survived by a son, Prakash Chandra Yadav, also a former MP, a daughter and many grandchildren. His wife had died earlier.

Bihar Assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Chowdhary and state government officials laid a wreath on his body. The body was flown to Patna where it would be kept for people to pay their last respects.

The cremation will take place on Wednesday, state government officials said.

Born in 1920 in Harirampur village of Patna district, Yadav participated in the freedom movement. The backward class leader was a six-time MLA from Bihar. He was also an educationist running over a dozen colleges in his state.

He held several cabinet positions in various Congress governments in Bihar -- starting as a PWD minister the R B Sahay government in 1967.

He was revenue minister in the Jagannath Mishra government in 1990. Later, he joined the Janata Dal and became an MP from Arrah in 1991 and 1996.

During the P V Narasimha Rao regime, he, under the leadership of Ajit Singh, re-joined the Congress and became Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals.

His death was mourned, among others, by Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee President Sadanand  Singh, former Bihar Chief Minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Congress chief spokesperson Kripanath Pathak.

In his condolence message, Sharad Yadav said that Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav was the true representative of the backward classes for whom he did a lot of work. He would always remain as a
source of inspiration for people and his death had left a void in national politics.