Senior Congress leader Buta Singh dies, 86-year-old Singh becomes MP eight times

- was hailed as the Messiah of Dalits

New Delhi, 2 January 2021

Sardar Buta Singh, a senior Congress leader and a messiah of Dalits, passed away on Saturday morning, January 2.

Buta Singh, an eight-time MP, was also a Union Minister during Indira Gandhi's tenure. Buta Singh was 86 years old.

Buta Singh, born in 1934, was mourned by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Buta Singh has been living a retired life for a long time. Buta Singh, a trusted leader of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, held the portfolios of Home Minister, Agriculture Minister, Railway Minister, Sports Minister and several others at the Center. In addition, Buta Singh had also served as the Governor of Bihar. As the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, he did a great job and got the title of Messiah of Dalits.

Buta Singh sided with Indira Gandhi in June 1975 when the party was split in two after the defeat of the Congress in the 1977 elections following the crisis imposed by Indira Gandhi. As the party's chief minister, he worked tirelessly to help the party win back the 1980s. However, in the years after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Buta Singh gradually lost interest in active politics and had been living a retired life for the last few years.