PATNA: Veteran socialist and former Union Minister for Rural Development Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh breathed his last on Sunday morning at Delhi AIIMS where he was admitted for last many days after developing chest pain.
Couple of months ago, on June 17, he was infected with the COVID-19.
Singh, 74-years-old, had served in the cabinet headed by former PM Manmohan Singh.
A native of Bihar's Vaishali district, he had recently resigned from the RJD after being disgruntled with party's functioning and a decision of inducting a leader against his will.
In his resignation letter to jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Singh wrote that he stayed with Lalu for 32 years,“…but not now… now forgive me”.
Reacting to the news of his death, the RJD chief tweeted in Hindi that: "Dear Raghuvansh babu, what have you done?
"I told you day before yesterday you're not leaving anywhere but you've gone too far
"I'm speechless, emotion less, I have no words, we will miss you."
A staunch supporter of Lalu Prasad who, nonetheless, is never shy of speaking his mind, Singh is one of the founding members of the RJD.
10 days before testing positive, on June 7, the Bihar leader had said that central government is planning for election and not fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.
A five-term MP from Vaishali, the veteran leader lost the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and failed to wrest it back five years later.
Recently, he had written six letters, three to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar demanding development work to be done at Vaishali and an ordinace to an amendement in MNREGA law.
He had also expressed his displesures on declining trend of moral in politics.
(With online desk inputs)