Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh dies of heart attack

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he left the BJP and fought independently as he did not get a ticket.

New Delhi / Jodhpur, Ta. Sunday, September 27, 2020

Former Union Minister and BJP's co-founder Jaswant Singh has died after a long illness. Jaswant Singh, a close confidante of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had been ill for some time and was undergoing treatment in Delhi.

Jaswant Singh, a former army officer and later involved in politics, is considered one of the BJP's co-founders. In 2014, Jaswant Singh fell at his home in Rajasthan, where he has been undergoing treatment ever since. He was being treated at a military hospital and was in a coma for a long time.

He was taken home after being admitted to the hospital and later again in June this year he was admitted to the hospital becoming more ill. A statement issued by the hospital said that Jaswant Singh was undergoing treatment for multi-organ dysfunction syndrome.

He also suffered severe head injuries which had been under treatment for a long time. He died of a heart attack on Sunday morning. Jaswant Singh's funeral was held at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. He was preceded in death by his son Manvendra Singh.

Leaders including President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Jaswand Singh. Born in 1938 in the village of Jasol in Barmer, Rajasthan, Jaswant Singh remained in politics for 60 years.

Jaswant Singh gained political recognition after he was inducted into the Jana Sangh by veteran BJP leader Bhairav ​​Singh Shekhawat. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1980. He has held several Union ministerial posts in the Vajpayee government, becoming Finance Minister in 1996. In 2000, he became Minister of Defense.

The Kandahar hijacking took place when Jaswant Singh was the External Affairs Minister from 1998 to 1999. In which the terrorists hijacked the plane carrying the Indians and demanded the release of the terrorists in return.

Jaswant Singh then went to Kandahar to release the three terrorists and brought back the passengers aboard the plane safely. In 2014, he was not given a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. So he left the BJP and contested the elections as an independent. It was at this point that he fell into his home and later fell into a coma.