Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh passes away at 89

Lucknow, Aug 21: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away on Saturday multi-organ failure. He was 89. Kalyan Singh has also served as the governor of Rajasthan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the demise of the senior leader Kalyan Singh.

"I am saddened beyond words. Kalyan Singh Ji...statesman, veteran administrator, grassroots level leader and great human. He leaves behind an indelible contribution towards the development of Uttar Pradesh. Spoke to his son Shri Rajveer Singh and expressed condolences. Om Shanti," PM Modi tweeted.

Born on January 5, 1932, Kalyan Singh first became an MLA in 1967. Since then, he won the assembly polls several times, held important posts in the BJP and was appointed Rajasthan Governor in the last phase of his public life.

Soon after his Raj Bhavan term ended in 2019, Singh formally rejoined the BJP as a primary member, signalling that he was not keen on retiring from political life just yet.

Back in 1991, he became the first BJP chief minister of the country's most populous state. A little over a year later, the Babri Masjid was demolished as the Sangh Parivar campaign to build the temple at the same spot picked momentum.

As UP''s chief minister, Singh had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, assuring that the 16th century mosque will be protected. But he had also ordered police not to open fire at protesters, arguing later that any such action would have led to much bloodshed.

Admitting failure to protect the mosque, he resigned the same evening. The state assembly was dissolved as riots erupted at several places in the country.

In the next assembly elections in November 1993, he contested from two seats Atrauli and Kasganj and won both.