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Former Union Minister and veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh passed away on Sunday following a long phase of illness.
Mr. Singh had been ill ever since after a fall in his house back in 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital. He made regular trips to the hospital ever since and was admitted again in June this year.
"Major Jaswant Singh(Retd), former Cabiner Minister, passed away at 6:55 am today. He was admitted on 25 June and was being treated for Sepsis with Multi-organ dysfunction syndrome. He had a cardiac arrest this morning", said the Army Hospital to which Mr. Singh was admitted to.
Jaswant Singh was a retired officer of the Indian Army and one of the founding members of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). As a close confidant of Ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he held several important portfolios including that of Defence Minister and Finance Minister in the multiple ministries of Vajpayee between 1996-2004.
As the tragic news of his passing away came in, condolences poured in by leaders across the political spectrum.
Even Veteran BJP leader LK Advani condoled the death of ex-union minister Jaswant Singh saying, "He was not only one of my closest colleagues in my party, but also a very dear friend".
Jaswant Singh apart from holding several important portfolios also was one of the longest serving parliamentarians in history.