NEW DELHI: When Buta singh The last time he made headlines for his controversial 2005 decision to fire Bihar’s unstable assembly, his action had a familiar tone. In the twilight of his long and eventful political career, the congressional man for all seasons was still doing what he did best.
During his six decades of political episodes, Singh, a Dalit Sikh, rose from humble beginnings in an impoverished family to the acclaimed Union Ministry of the Interior and also the position of a feared member of Congress under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
He separated from Congress in the late 1990s to become an independent MP and briefly served as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s minister, but the doors of Congress were always open to him and he returned to later serve as Governor of Bihar and later as president of the National. Commission of Registered Castes. That was practically the last chapter of his politics.
Singh is best remembered for appearing at two defining moments in modern Indian history: Ayodhya Shilanyas and Operation Bluestar.
As a Sikh, Singh bravely stood up to the separatist terror in Punjab and also backed Operation Bluestar, which became a major provocation for many of the tragic events that followed. For his role, Singh was excommunicated by the Akal Takht and images of him shining shoes as punishment in the Golden Temple are etched in public memory. Singh was a villain for the hardliners and a rather unlikely hero for the Indian mainstream.
On video: Congress leader Buta Singh dies at 86
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