Lucknow: SP founder member Bhagwati Singh passes away at 89

LUCKNOW: Founder member of the Samajwadi Party and former UP minister Bhagwati Singh passed away on Sunday at his residence in Lucknow where he was staying with his family. He was 89.
As the socialist leader had pledged his body to King George Medical University, party sources said last rites of Singh will not be performed.
To offer his condolences on the demise of Bhagwati Singh, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav visited his River Bank colony residence.He offered floral tributes to the moral remains of Bhagwati Singh who was seen as a close confidant of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. “May God give peace to the soul and strength to the family to bear the loss. His death has come as an irreparable loss to the party and his contribution will continue to inspire for decades to some,” Akhilesh said. The SP chief also postponed a scheduled press conference as a mark of respect to Bhagwati Singh.
A SP member of the Rajya Sabha from July 2004 to 2010, Bhagwati Singh joined the socialist movement following inspiration from the socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia.
“Strengthening SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav all through his stint in active politics, Bhagwati Singh was a member of Mulayam cabinet and later stood by Akhilesh Yadav when he was elected as the SP national president. He led the management of Chandrabhanu Gupta Agriculture College in Bakshi ka Talab,” recollected SP secretary and chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary who had worked closely with Bhagwati Singh.
SP state president Naresh Uttam Patel, former minister Arvind Singh Gope, MLCs Jagjeevan Prasad, Anand Bhadauria and Suneel Singh Sajan and a host of other party leaders paid floral tributes to Bhagwati Singh.