Saifuddin Soz expresses grief at demise of Bhim Singh, chief of J&K National Panthers Party

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Prof. Saifuddin Soz has expressed grief at the passing away on May 31 of Bhim Singh, founder president of J&K National Panthers Party.

“The news that Bhim Singh has passed away has come as a big shock to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He was known for his human qualities and secular thinking on political issues. I knew him personally for more than three decades as a politician, who was convinced that the politics of RSS/BJP was detrimental to the unity of J&K and that of India at large,” Soz said in a press release issued on Tuesday.

“From his student days till his last breath, he had stood firm on the unity of J&K and for the promotion of communal harmony. Bhim Singh’s passing away is a great loss, particularly to the people of Jammu. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and Bhim Singh’s friends all over,” he added.

It may be recalled that Soz had on May 14 brought Bhim Singh’s deteriorating health to the attention of the J&K Lt. Governor, urging him to extend all possible government support to him

“I explained further to the Lt. Governor that some informed persons have said that Bhim Singh might need financial support also. I also apprised the Lt. Governor that Bhim Singh had always served the cause of the nation and the state and needed full support of the government for his well-being,” he had said at the time.

It may be recalled that Bhim Singh was elected member of the J&K Assembly (1977–87) from Chenani-Ghordi (Udhampur), and was nominated by successive Prime Ministers of India as member of the National Integration Council (1991-2016).

In the 2002 Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the Panthers Party under Bhim Singh’s leadership had won all seats in Udhampur district, and formed part of the coalition government.

In 2015, Bhim Singh's book ‘Unbelievable - Delhi to Islamabad’ was released by the then Vice-President Hamid Ansari, which chronicled his efforts as a Supreme Court advocate, gaining the release of over 700 falsely accused prisoners from Indian and Pakistani jails among other cases.

Singh had travelled widely the world over, and the second volume of his book documenting these travels, ‘Peace Mission: Around the World on Motorcycle’, was released by Dr Karan Singh, the erstwhile crown prince of Jammu and Kashmir.