New Delhi, Jan 14 (Agencies) : Former Chief Minister of Punjab Surjit Singh Barnala passed away on Saturday at the age of 91 following prolonged illness. He was admitted in PGIMER in Chandigarh. Barnala had also held the post of governor of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He had also served as a Union Minister. Barnala was Punjab Chief Minister from 1985 to 1987.

Born on October 21, 1925, in Ateli Haryana, Barnal was actively involved in India’s freesom struggle and most prominently the Quit India Movement in 1942. Barnala had contested the electiosn for the first time in 1952 but had lost. He had been electe to the Parliament in 1977 and had been aprt of the Morarji Desai government as the agriculture minister. He is also known for his important part in the setting up of the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.

Barnala’s SAD (Longowal) is known to be struggling for existence in the state and according to reports, his son Jasjit Barnala had joined the Aam Aadmi Party at Khanna. Jasjit had been reportedly politically inactuive till he joined AAP as the part of a newly formed aspiration. The SAD(Longowala) had merged with Congress in April 2016. Headed by Surjit Kaur barnala, the merger seems all but broken as the Congress party did not give any tickets to the Barnala family.