01 August,2020 05:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Amar Singh
Former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh passed away on Saturday after battling an illness. He was 64.
Amar Singh was hospitalised in Singapore in March for surgery in a kidney-related illness.
He was a key leader in Samajwadi Party when SP supported the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2008, after the Communist Party of India withdrew support following a nuclear deal with the United States.
The political leader's name had emerged in the alleged cash for votes scam and he was arrested as well. Singh was expelled from the Samajwadi Party in 2017 after a rift between Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav started to widen.
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On March 22, he had posted a video message from the hospital on his Twitter account, asking his followers to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his fight against Coronavirus.
Earlier in the day, he had tweeted a tribute to freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his death anniversary and also wished people in Eid al-Adha.
He had suffered kidney failure in 2013.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh was the first among the leaders to pay condolences. He took to Twitter to remember the energetic and jovial leader. "Saddened to know about the death of senior leader and parliamentarian Amar Singh," the union minister tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Singh witnessed some of the major political developments from close quarters in the last few decades.
President Ram Nath Kovind condoled the death of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh on Saturday, saying he was a man of many parts and an able parliamentarian.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet that he felt very sad to hear the news of the demise of Amar Singh. "May his soul rest in peace," he said.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain also paid his tributes. "Sad at demise of Amar Singh. He was friend of friends," Hussain said in a tweet.
Former union minister Suresh Prabhu offered condolences to the political leader. "He always fought with oddities of life as he did fight for his own life from hospital bed,till his last breath," the Rajya Sabha MP said on Twitter.
Amar Singh was also known for his contacts in the business and film industry.
With inputs from agencies
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sad to hear of the demise of senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Shri Amar Singh. A man of many parts, Singh was an able parliamentarian. Condolences to his family, friends and well-wishers.</p>— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href="https://twitter.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/1289539668137000962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
