Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's mother 'Rajmata' Mohinder Kaur passed away this evening after prolonged illness at her residence in Patiala. She was 96. A former Congress MP, she had been keeping unwell for sometime. She breathed her last at the family's Moti Mahal residence in Patiala at 7.24 pm, as a result of multiple system failure triggered by a natural weakening due to old age, an official spokesperson said.
The chief minister has gone to Patiala to perform the last rites, which will be conducted on Tuesday. The cabinet meeting and other programmes scheduled for tomorrow stand cancelled, the spokesperson said.
The Rajmata had not been keeping well for some months and had been hospitalised at PGI Chandigarh in March.
She is survived by two sons and two daughters.
Kaur, the wife of late Maharaja of Patiala Yadavindra Singh, was born in Ludhiana to Harchand Singh Jaijee, a nobleman and member of the Patiala Riyasat Praja Mandal (Patiala State Peoples' Forum, an affiliate of the Indian National Congress). She got married at the age of 16.
A former Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member, the Rajmata was actively involved in various political, social and other philanthropic activities.
Kaur was Rajya Sabha member from 1964 to 1967. In 1967, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Patiala.
Several dignitaries from across the country have mourned the death of the royal matriarch.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders of the Congress called the chief minister to express their condolences.
Punjab Governor V P Singh Bhadnore, Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana K P Singh, Deputy Speaker Ajaib Singh Bhatti, several state ministers, legislators among others had called Amarinder.
The cabinet meeting slated for tomorrow and the launch bike taxis by a cab aggregate stand cancelled.
