Former Indian BJP leader Jaswant Singh passes away

India's former foreign, defence and finance minister Jaswant Singh, a close associate of ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, died in New Delhi today following a protracted bout of illness.

A former Army officer from the Rajasthan state, 82-year-old Jaswant Singh had been ailing after suffering a fall at his home in August 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi.

He had been in and out of the hospital and was admitted again in June this year, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

"It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Hon'ble Major Jaswant Singh (Retd), former Cabinet Minister of government of India at 0655 hours on September 27, 2020," the hospital said in a statement.

"He was admitted on 25 Jun 2020 and being treated for Sepsis with Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome and effects of Severe Head Injury old (Optd) had a cardiac arrest this morning," the statement added.

Despite the best efforts of the attending team of specialists to resuscitate Jaswant Singh, he could not be revived and passed away, it added.

Extremely articulate, Singh, also a senior BJP leader, considered close to Vajpayee and veteran leader LK Advani, had held Defence, Finance and External Affairs portfolios in the Vajpayee government (1998 to 2004). He had handled the tricky negotiations on the civil nuclear deal with the United States.

He had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate after the BJP did not give him nomination but lost.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders paid rich tributes to Jaswant Singh, saying he served India diligently and will be remembered for his unique perspective on matters of politics and society.