Veteran SAD Leader Tota Singh Dies At 81 After Prolonged Illness, Sukhbir Singh Badal Expresses Grief

Singh served as the agriculture and education minister in the Akali government. He was also a member of the core committee and senior vice-President of Akali Dal.

Tota Singh was 91 years old. ( Image Source :Twitter/@officeofssbadal )

New Delhi: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister Tota Singh passed away on Saturday at the age of 81 years. He was admitted to a private hospital for prolonged illness. 

Singh served as the agriculture and education minister in the Akali government. He was also a member of the core committee and senior vice-President of Akali Dal. Besides that, he was also a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

Singh was elected as a legislator for the first time in 1997 from the Moga assembly. He was inducted into the Punjab cabinet as education minister by the then Akali government led by Prakash Singh Badal. 

He was re-elected in 2002 from the Moga constituency but lost in 2007. He was then elected in 2012 from the Dharamkot Assembly which paved the way for the agriculture ministry for him. Singh lost the elections in 2017 and 2022. 

Following the demise of the veteran leader, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed condolences via Twitter. 

“Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh Ji. Jathedar Sahab was a father figure to me & a source of inspiration for all of us. His invaluable advice & wise counsel will always be missed. I stand with the Brar family in this hour of grief,” Badal tweeted.

Deeply saddened to learn about the demise of senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh Ji. Jathedar sahab was a father figure to me & a source of inspiration for all of us. His invaluable advice & wise counsel will always be missed. I stand with Brar family in this hour of grief. pic.twitter.com/MnBYsUzmkG

— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) May 21, 2022

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also expressed grief over the demise of the veteran leader. 

“My heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of veteran Akali leader, Jathedar Tota Singh Ji,” Warring said in a tweet.