Kalyan Singh, UP chief minister at time of Babri Masjid demolition, dies

Senior BJP leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away on Saturday at a hospital here following illness.

Kalyan Singh was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences on July 4 following deterioration in his health condition.

“Former Chief Minister of UP and and Ex-Governor of Rajasthan Kalyan Singh Ji breathed his last today. He was admitted in SGPGI on July 4 in Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. He died due to sepsis and multi-organ failure,” said a statement by the hospital.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had met Kalyan Singh earlier in the day and prayed for his speedy recovery.

Kalyan Singh had been put on dialysis and was on the ventilator.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had enquired about Kalyan Singh’s health and several BJP leaders had visited him in the hospital.

PM Modi condoles demise of Kalyan Singh, says he was rooted in Indian values

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed condolences on the demise of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh and said that he was firmly rooted in Indian values.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister wrote, “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.”

“Generations to come will remain forever grateful to Kalyan Singh Ji for his contributions towards India’s cultural regeneration. He was firmly rooted in Indian values and took pride in our centuries old traditions,” PM Modi further tweeted.

Praising the life of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, the Prime Minister further wrote, “Kalyan Singh Ji gave voice to crores of people belonging to the marginalised sections of society. He made numerous efforts towards the empowerment of farmers, youngsters and women.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also mourned Singh’s demise and tweeted, “Kalyan Singh ji was not only a stalwart of Indian politics, but also left an indelible mark on the country and society with his personality and creativity. His long political life was devoted to the service of the masses. He became known as the most popular Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

“From the time of Jana Sangh, he worked hard to make BJP strong and reach out to every section of the society. This country will always remember him for his important role in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement. His death is a great loss to Indian politics and it is a very sad moment for me,” tweeted Rajnath Singh

The Defence Minister who was also a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further wrote, “I have lost my elder brother and companion in the passing away of Shri Kalyan Singh Ji. The void created by his death is almost impossible to fill. May God give patience and strength to his bereaved family in this difficult time of grief. Om Shanti!”

Kalyan Singh was also the former governor of Rajasthan. In a tweet by the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, he mourned his demise and wrote, “Deeply saddened by the passing away of former Governor of Rajasthan and former CM of UP, Sh. Kalyan Singh ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family members. May God give them strength in this difficult time. May the departed soul rest in peace.”

Kalyan Singh passed away at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow today, due to sepsis and multi organ failure at the age of 89.

Kalyan Singh: Hindutva icon under whose watch Babri Masjid fell

 

The defining moment in Kalyan Singh’s life was the fall of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Just hours after mobs of kar sevaks demolished it, Singh quit as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh owning moral responsibility.

Not that he had any regrets over his failure to save the mosque which he had assured the Supreme Court would be protected.

Maybe it was destined that the structure would be demolished with me as chief minister, he told a newspaper ahead of the 2020 bhoomi pujan for the Ram temple, now being built at the once disputed site in Ayodhya after a historic Supreme Court verdict.

Had there been no demolition, probably the courts too would have ordered status quo, he said then. And his last wish, he said, was to live till the temple comes up.

Singh, a Hindutva icon and a Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, died at a Lucknow hospital on Saturday. He was 89.

Hailed by many for his administrative acumen during his two stints as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the influential backward caste leader from western UP parted ways twice with the BJP and has briefly also floated his own outfits.

His second parting was in 2009, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, when he said he felt humiliated by the party and complained that he had hardly any say in the selection of candidates in his state.

Singh said it was a political blunder to have rejoined the BJP, which he had left the first time n 1999, only to return in 2004 before the General Election.

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.

A Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine formed the government in the state under Mulayam Singh Yadav, even though the BJP won the largest number of seats. Singh was Leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly.

He got his second shot at the top post in September 1997, becoming CM again under a six-month rotation formula with the Bahujan Samaj Party. The arrangement collapsed soon with the BSP withdrawing support.

But, backed by a group of disgruntled opposition members, his government survived. A controversial order by Governor Romesh Bhandari dismissing his government was also stayed by the high court.

But a section of BJP MLAs was gunning for him. One reason for the dissent was the alleged interference in the state government by Lucknow corporator Kusum Rai, who was also said to control access to the chief minister.

As opposition within the BJP mounted, Kalyan Singh was removed from the CM’s post by the party high command in November 1999.

Later, he was also formally expelled from the party over remarks targeting the party’s top leadership. Singh appeared to cosy up with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who offered a ticket to his son Rajvir Singh.

In 2010, he also floated the Jan Kranti Party, but let his son head it till it merged with the BJP.

All these years, the Babri Masjid demolition case trial dragged on. Singh enjoyed immunity from trial as he held a gubernatorial post.

After demitting office as Rajasthan Governor, he appeared before the CBI court which pronounced its order in September 2020, acquitting him and 31 others accused of conspiracy to demolish the mosque.

The judge concluded that there was no evidence to show that the demolition was pre-planned.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here on the evening of July 4 due to an infection and reduced consciousness levels.

Before being shifted to the PGI, the former chief minister was undergoing treatment at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences here.