Jaswant Singh, former external affairs minister, passes away at 82; Modi says he 'served nation diligently'

Jaswant Singh, former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and external affairs minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, passed away on Sunday. He was 82.Singh, a former army officer, had been ill after a fall at his home in August 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital. He had been in and out of the hospital and was admitted again in June this year."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 27 September 2020. 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 hospital said in a statement.Despite the best efforts of the attending team of specialists to resuscitate him, he could not be revived and passed away, the statement added.His funeral will take place later today at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, family sources told PTI.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condoling Singh's death, said —Modi noted, "Jaswant Singh Ji will be remembered for his unique perspective on matters of politics and society. He also contributed to the strengthening of the BJP. I will always remember our interactions. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti."The prime minister further said, "Spoke to Shri Manvendra Singh and expressed condolences on the unfortunate demise of Shri Jaswant Singh Ji. True to his nature, Jaswant Ji fought his illness with immense courage for the last six years."Several other political leaders also paid tributes to him.With inputs from PTI