MGNREGA man, veteran socialist & RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh dies, Rahul Gandhi pays tribute

Known as the MGNREGA man, veteran socialist leader and former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh succumbed to post-COVID illness at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on Sunday.

A close friend of RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, Singh has recently resigned from the RJD. He wrote his resignation letter from the hospital bed. Singh was suffering from a lung infection and was put on ventilator two days ago after his health deteriorated.

He was admitted in the ICU unit of the hospital a week ago after contracting an infection in his lungs, a post-COVID illness he developed after contracting Coronavirus. Singh had tested positive with the Covid-19 in June and was treated at AIIMS, Patna.

The 74-year-old Singh had written a series of letters to various politicians while undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Delhi. In one of his letters, circulated in the media, Singh had flayed the culture of dynastic politics and taken indirect potshots at family rule in the RJD.

Paying his tribute to the RJD stalwart, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said with the demise of Raghuvansh Prasad, “a strong voice representing farmers and villages of India has gone.”

“His commitment and tireless efforts for the upliftment of farmers, villages and his struggles for social justice will always be remembered,” said Rahul.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said the passing away of Raghuvansh Prasad was an "irreparable loss".

His colleague and former Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwari told NH that Raghuvansh Prasad was of a very rare species.

“Implementation of MGNREGA was his greatest achievement,” said Tiwari over the phone.

A PhD in in mathematics and an expert in rural and agricultural landscape, Singh served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development in UPA-I of Manmohan Singh’s government. Singh had represented Vaishali constituency of Bihar. He was the national vice-president of the RJD.