Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh passes away aged 74

Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, passed away on Sunday morning aged 74.

His recent resignation from the RJD, founded and headed by Lalu Prasad, had left political waters in Bihar astir.

On Saturday, he had fallen critically ill and was put on a ventilator, after being admitted to AIIMS, Delhi for about a week.

In an emotional tweet, Lalu Prasad condoled the demise of the veteran leader.

In June, the septuagenarian had tested positive for coronavirus. Singh, after developing post-COVID complications, resigned from the primary membership of the RJD party on Thursday and followed it up with an open letter, a day later, addressed to Prasad's arch-rival and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, triggering speculations about his future moves.

A staunch loyalist of the RJD supremo whom he supported through thick and thin, Singh ran afoul with the party a few months ago when murmurs about mafia don turned politician Rama Singh, his rival in Vaishali Lok Sabha constituency, led him to resign from the post of the national vice-president.

A cabinet colleague of Prasad in the Manmohan Singh government, Singh thereby stymied Rama Singh's entry into the party and although he did not give up the primary membership at that time, he stayed away from the RJD's day to day affairs which was attributed, in part, to his ill-health.

Tributes poured in for the late politico from all corners of the country: