Kathmandu, March 5:

Former minister and Nepali Congress leader Maheswor Prasad Singh died at his residence in Ramananda Chowk in Janakpur at the age of 74 this morning.

According to a press statement issued by the NC central office in Kathmandu, Singh was suffering from diabetes and kidney problems. Associated with the NC since 1961, Singh had taken part in all democratic movements in Nepal. Currently, he was a central advisor to the Nepali Congress. Singh, who was in self exile in India, had taken part in the armed struggle waged by the NC against the Panchayat regime in 1962. He returned home after spending about six years in exile. He was jailed for about five years during the democratic movement.

He was elected to the House of Representatives on behalf of the party in 1991. He served as law minister in GP Koirala’s cabinet after the 1991 election. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

In a condolence message dispatched to the bereaved family, party president GP Koirala expressed heart-felt sorrow over Singh’s untimely demise.