India, March 28 -- Congress leader and former Punjab finance minister Lal Singh passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Saturday.

He was 84.

The former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president had been unwell for the past few days and was undergoing treatment at Max Hospital. He is survived by his son, Rajinder Singh, a former MLA from Samana.

Widely regarded as the 'Bhishma Pitamah (patriarch)' of the Punjab Congress, Lal Singh's political career spanned over four decades. Born in 1942 in Patiala district, he rose from the grassroots to enter the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1977 from the Dakala constituency.

Mainstay in Punjab cabinet

A dominant politician from Malwa, Lal Singh won multiple terms from ...