Chandigarh: Former Punjab Assembly Speaker and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Nirmal Singh Kahlon passed away on Saturday after a prolonged illness at a private hospital in Amritsar. He was 79. Senior Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema, in a tweet, said the last rites of Kahlon will be performed at Dadujodh village near Fatehgarh Churian in Gurdaspur district on 17 July.
Kahlon was the minister for rural development and panchayat in the Akali government from 1997 to 2002. He was also the speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 2007 to 2012. Prominent among those who expressed grief over Kahlon's demise included Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
In a statement, Governor Purohit expressed his deepest condolences and said, "The veteran leader had served the state in various capacities. May God grant eternal peace to the departed soul." In a tweet, Mann said, "Deeply saddened over the demise of Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon."