Patiala, March 29 -- 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) working 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. A dominant politician from Malwa, Lal Singh won multiple terms from Dakala and later Sanour. He held high-profile portfolios under different administrations. He served as the food and supplies minister in the Beant Singh cabinet in 1992 and continued under Harcharan Singh Brar. In 2002, under Captain Amarinder Singh, he was entrusted with the crucial finance portfolio, alongside food and supplies and rural development and panchayats. His tenure was marked by a deep understanding of Punjab's agrarian economy and the streamlining of the public distribution system. Even after retiring from electoral politics, Lal Singh remained a key figure in public life. In 2017, he was appointed chairman of the Punjab Mandi Board with cabinet rank, where he focused on strengthening rural infrastructure and mandi operations. Leaders across party lines expressed grief over his demise, describing him as an accessible leader who remained deeply connected to farmers and party workers until the end....