Arjuns last wish was to meet Sonia,she obliged

Singh died evening,hours after the party had removed him as member of the Congress Working Committee and appointed him a Permanent Invitee.

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

On his death bed,veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh,who had always worn his loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family on his sleeves,only wished to meet Sonia Gandhi. Informed about his desire,the Congress chief called on him at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but what transpired at their meeting remains a secret.

Singh died Friday evening,hours after the party had removed him as member of the Congress Working Committee and appointed him a Permanent Invitee.

About a fortnight back,Singh had sent a message to senior Congress leader Anil Shastri,asking him to see him in the hospital. Shastri told The Sunday Express that Singh looked disheartened as he held his arm and said how most of his political associates had not even visited him in the hospital. I only wish to meet Sonia Gandhi, Singh told him.

Story continues below this ad

Shastri informed Sonias office about the ailing leaders wish. She was said to have immediately shot off a letter to Singh in the hospital,wishing him speedy recovery. A couple of days later,she visited him in the hospital,according to Shastri.

Kept out of the UPA II Cabinet,the disenchanted former Human Resource Development Minister had decided to quit active politics after his Rajya Sabha term,which was to end in April 2012. In an interview to The Indian Express last December his last interview Singh declared his retirement plans,saying,You may probably know that I have crossed 80. There comes a stage in life when you have to think about yourself.

Meanwhile,the CWC met here on Saturday to condole the death of the veteran leader,saying in a resolution,Arjun Singhs death is an irreparable loss not only to the Congress but to Indian polity. He was a such a leader that even his opponents accepted the significance of his political genius and strategy. He had some definite views and outlook on certain issues and subjects to which he always stuck. Without bothering about the controversies and opposition,he played his role in public life in his own way.

At his home,where his body was brought from the hospital,a stream of leaders and party workers came in to pay last respects to Singh.

Story continues below this ad

A family member said he had been in the hospital for almost a month because of kidney problems and other ailments.

The body was kept in a glass box in the guest room,where Singh received his spiritual gurus,for the visitors to have a last glimpse of the departed leader. Among those who came in were President Pratibha Patil,Vice-President Hamid Ansari,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with his wife Gursharan Kaur and Sonia Gandhi.

Singhs body was later flown to his hometown Churhat in Madhya Pradesh.

Senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Mohsina Kidwai would be attending the cremation on Sunday.

With Chinki Sinha