Digamber Singh

Dr. Digamber Singh
Minister of Health Dr. Digamber Singh in 2004.
Constituency	Deeg-Kumher
MLA
In office 1993-2013
Constituency	Kumher
Cabinet Minister-Minister of Health, Ayurveda and Family Welfare, Government of Rajasthan
In office 2003-2008
Constituency	Deeg-Kumher
Cabinet Minister-Minister of Industries, Government of Rajasthan
In office 2008-2009
Constituency	Kumher
Vice President of Rajasthan, Bharatiya Janata Party
In office 2013-2015
Chairman of Twenty Point Programme
In office 3 May 2015 - 27 October 2017
Cabinet Minister Incharge of Four additional schemes, Government of Rajasthan
In office 9 September 2016 - 27 October 2017
Personal details
Born	(1951-10-01)1 October 1951 Barkhera Faujdar, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Died	27 October 2017(2017-10-27) (aged 66) Jaipur, Rajasthan
Cause of death	Multiple Organ Failure
Resting place	Dr. Digamber Singh "Samadhi", Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Asha Singh ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	Dr. Shilpi Singh and Dr. Shailesh Digamber Singh
Parent	Jawahar Singh (Barkhera) & Ramkali Devi
Residence(s)	354-55 Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Education	Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Alma mater	Dr. Sampurnanand Medical College, Jodhpur

Digamber Singh was a Bharatiya Janata Party leader. He served as cabinet minister in the Government of India. He represented Deeg-Kumher constituency of Bharatpur district in the assembly. Served in Government Medical Department until 1992. He was first elected to assembly in 1993. He served first as Minister of Health and later from 2009 onwards as Industries Minister. He was Chairman of the "Bees Sutri Karyakram" or the "Twenty Point Programme" and held a Cabinet Minister status. He was later appointed the Minister in-charge for " Four Important Schemes of Rajasthan" including health, social justice, law and rural development.

Early life

Singh was born on 1 October 1951 at village Barkhera Faujdar in Bharatpur to a Hindu Jat family, his father Jawahar Singh was a "Patwari". He attended school in his village first and later in Bharatpur. Singh was a bright student with an aspiration to be a Doctor. He once popularly said- "I am going to replace the K from Kunwar Digamber Singh with a D to Dr. Digamber Singh". He later studied in Jaipur, where he is said to have slept by joining classroom benches. He further went to Dr. Sampurnanand Medical College, Jodhpur to pursue MBBS.

Medical career

Initially, in his medical career, Singh had a government job in Bharatpur. In 1993 he launched his own hospital, today known as Shree Digamber Hospital in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. He is popularly remembered as a suave and dedicated doctor, providing free treatment to the very poor and even paying for their transportation. His popularity as a doctor gained him ground in politics, within Bharatpur, paving way for his political career. He was recognised by the WHO as the finest gynecologist in Rajasthan. Today, his Shree Digamber group owns multiple hospitals and nursing colleges across India.

Political career

Singh at the Pinnacle of his Career

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje ties "Rakhi" to Minister Digamber Singh in 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaign in support of Digamber Singh

Singh joined the Bharatiya Janta Party in late 1980s. He was the Bharatpur district president of the Bharatiya Janta Party in early 1990s. His tenure as District President is widely remembered as the reason for the Party's establishment in Eastern Rajasthan. He was first elected to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly in 1993 from Kumher in Bharatpur at the age of 43. He later fought, and lost in the 1996 general election to Natwar Singh. He was re-elected in 1998 as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). By now, Singh also harboured a close relationship with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which helped him gain a Cabinet Minister portfolio. He went on to win the 2003 Rajasthan election from Kumher and was further appointed Cabinet Minister of Health & FW in Government of Rajasathan under the leadership of Vasundhara Raje. He found success in his new role and was termed as the "Trouble-shooting Minister" of the Vasundhara Government. Under his able leadership, the department of Health also attained new heights, and several benefiting schemes and awareness campaigns were launched across the state. Singh's most remarkable achievement is considered to be the "108 Ambulance Seva". He also played a crucial role in the 'Gujjar Agitation' in Rajasthan. Later, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister Of Industries and showed his potential and acumen here too. Under his leadership, many shut factories were reopened and the FDI in Rajasthan significantly increased as more and more companies invested in the state. Employment grew drastically under him. Singh then won the 2008 election for the fourth consecutive time from Deeg-Kumher, defeating the former royal of Bharatpur, Vishvendra Singh. Singh served as a MLA, as the Bharatiya Janta Party was voted out of power. As an MLA, he primarily focused on Bharatpur, and fostered the growth of the region by getting a Medical College, Engineering College, a stadium, a museum and a 4 Lane highway for the region. He also got the region included in the Delhi NCR, and also is credited to make Bharatpur a "Sambhag". He also got done the decades pending "Mandhera Chaardiwari" multi billion dollar project. All these accomplishments got him the widely accepted title of "Vikas Purush" or "The Man of Development". Singh was a strong voice of the party in the assembly and a sharp critic of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Dr. Singh lost the 2013 elections due to what were called "Dirty Political Games and Vendetta Politics" of the ruling government and the bureaucracy, as the Bharatiya Janta Party was voted back in power and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje desperately wanted strongman Singh in the cabine. Therefore Dr. Singh was asked to contest the bypoll from Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu. Raje declared openly in the election, that the people of Surajgarh were choosing a Cabinet Minister and not an MLA. Dr. Singh miraculously secured 60000+ votes in 15 days from the constituency, however he lost by a mere margin of 3000 votes. Nevertheless, he was appointed as President of the "20-Point Programme" and was given the status of a Cabinet Minister on 3 May 2015. He was later also made the in charge of the "4 important govt. schemes" and had a superior hand on Four Cabinet Ministers related to these schemes. Departments under his supervision included health, law and jurisdiction, rural development and social justice. Following this unique development, he was termed as a "Super Cabinet Minister" and even the "Unannounced Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan", he however denied these and termed them as 'preposterous' in an interview to DNA in 2016. Singh throughout his political career was successful inn maintaining a clean and altruistic image, people considered him as a leader, who would help them in their hour of need, irrespective of the place they come from or the severity of their issue. Singh considered Rajendra Singh Rathore as his closest friend, despite both being politicians; their friendship is viewed by the people as an unorthodox political relationship, giving an insight in Dr. Singh's personality. Meanwhile, Singh, accomplished all his goals as TPP Chairman and Cabinet Minister for Health, Social Justice, Rural Development departments despite his failing health. In 2017, Singh played a crucial role in the "Jat agitation" and was responsible to get the matter solved which caught the attention of the whole nation. He was also the "Vice-President" of Rajasthan BJP for over 2 years.

Membership of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly

SI No.	Assembly	Tenure	Constituency	Party
1.	10th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly	1993-1998	Kumher	Bharatiya Janata Party
2.	11th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly	1998-2003
3.	12th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly	2003-2008
4.	13th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly	2008-2013	Deeg-Kumher

Positions Held In Government of Rajasthan

SI. No	Post	Department of Ministry	Tenure
1.	Cabinet Minister	Medical and Health Services (ESI), Medical Education, Ayurveda, Family Welfare & Indian Medical Methods	2003-2008
2.	Cabinet Minister	Industry State Enterprise	2008-2009
3.	Cabinet Minister	Twenty Point Programme & Four Additional Schemes	2015-2017

Personal life and family

Singh married Asha Singh on 19 January 1976. The couple had two children, one daughter and one son. Singh's daughter, Shilpi Singh (born 9 January 1973), is a gynecologist based in Sirsa, Haryana. She is married to Dr. Hari Singh and is the daughter in-law of Dr. Amar Singh Sidhu. His son Dr. Shailesh Digamber Singh (born 20 July 1980) is a doctor turned politican. Shailesh contested the 2018 Rajasthan Election, after the demise of his father, and was unsuccessful. On 19 December 2019, Shailesh was appointed the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bharatpur. Shailesh is married to Kirti Singh and has two children.

On 30 August 2021, Dr. Singh's wife Smt. Asha Digamber Singh died after a prolonged illness, battling cancer. She breathed her last in Jaipur's EHCC Hospital at 10:20 PM. She was reported to be on the same bed, room and was being treated by the same doctor (Dr. RS Khedar) as Dr. Singh himself almost 4 years ago. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Rajasthan and the country have expressed their heartfelt condolences and grief. Mrs. Singh was 65.

Illness

Singh at the beginning of his Illness, here as a Cabinet Minister

Singh was diagnosed with stage 4 "Pancreatic Cancer" in March 2015, he had complained of back-pain. At the time he was occupied with the Delhi Elections 2015. On the 3rd day after his diagnosis he was flown to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for a surgery which was reported ‘successful’. In October 2015, he went in for a 12 hour major surgery in Lakshore Hospital Kochi, Kerala by Dr. H. Ramesh. A doctor himself, Singh was well acquainted to his disease and his decision to go in for another major surgery in such a short interval was heavily protested by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. However, Singh had his way. Despite his deteriorating health, he was very much active in public life. In 2016 Dr. Singh flew to Lisbon, Portugal for Radio Therapy. In 2017 for about 3 months Dr. Singh had his chemotherapy in Singapore; he flew to Singapore every Monday and returned Wednesday. He was being treated at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. He also had his Chemotherapy in Jaipur. By the other half of 2017, Dr Singh's failing health had taken a toll over him, he visibly appeared increasingly weak and fragile. Yet, he is reported to be active and sharp in his daily tasks. On 1 October 2017, Singh celebrated his 66th Birthday with his supporters, over a 110,000 attended the massive event along with a dozen ministers and numerous MPs and MLAs. Singh refrained from giving any speech on his birthday, as he was unable to stand for long durations or speak clearly. On 5 October 2017, Dr. Singh gave his last interview to Network18 Group in Jaipur. On 8 October, Singh appeared to witness a Kabbadi match in Jaipur along with numerous Bollywood celebrities and politicians. On 17 October, Singh made his last public appearance as well as held his last press conference in Deeg-Kumher; over 50,000 people attended the massive event. It was here that, Dr Singh said his last words in public; "तन समर्पित, मन समर्पित, लो मेरा जीवन समर्पित।". {Meaning - "Body dedicated, mind and soul dedicated and now my life is dedicated" (for the people)}. These words continue to circulate among the masses till date. Singh met numerous supporters of his on 17 October. Generally due to his poor immunity, the security would ensure that no one would reach the minister without sanitization, gloves and facial covering. However, due to the instructions from the minister himself, they allowed people to meet him, soon Singh's chair was surrounded by hundreds of people and the security found it difficult to control the situation. The next day, Singh was hospitalised in Jaipur after his condition worsened. It is believed that, Dr. Singh caught an infection on 17 October due to interaction and exposure to the masses without proper precautions. Singh was placed in Critical Care at EHCC Hospital Jaipur under the care of Dr. RS. Khedar. Singh even caught Swine Flu, however he recovered from it. In their daily media briefings on the ailing minister's health, Dr. Khedar said - "we are witnessing day by day improvement". By 26 October 2017 Dr. Khedar and his team were planning to shift Singh to a room from the ICU, however Dr. Singh complained of severe back pain. It was then that Dr. Singh himself wrote down a medicine and instructed Dr. Khedar to inject it. That gave the ailing leader some relief but in a major turn of events, Singh went in multiple-organ failure by late evening of 26 October 2017, He was placed on life support system early on 27 October 2017.

Death

Singh died on 27 October 2017 after a prolonged illness battling stage-four Pancreatic cancer, diagnosed in April 2015. He had undergone treatment in the US, Singapore and Portugal. He was admitted to Jaipur's EHCC Hospital on 18 October 2017 after his condition worsened. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, along with several other BJP leaders, reached the hospital to express their grief. He was survived by his son - Dr. Shailesh Singh, daughter Dr. Shilpi Singh and wife Asha Singh. He had served as a cabinet minister in Rajasthan Government led by Vasundhara Raje. 1 day of state-mourning was declared in Rajasthan and the national flags were flown at half-mast; his funeral was declared to be a "state funeral" held with "Full State Honours". Over 250,000 people attended Singh's funeral; despite the fact of it being held just 6 hours after his demise was declared. Senior party leaders and Cabinet Ministers from all over India; were present at his funeral. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Party President Amit Shah offered their "Deep and sincere condolences", on the demise of the Jat Stalwart.

Aftermath

Dr Digamber Singh's absence in the political field was realized almost immediately after his demise. Singh had a strong hold in Eastern Rajasthan, post his demise the party won only 1 out of the 19 seats there and was one of the major reasons for the Bharatiya Janata Party being voted out of power in the 2018 election. His down to earth attitude, despite being one of the most powerful in the state, is remembered widely across Rajasthan, as is his almost three decade political journey. Singh's untimely demise has created a power vacuum within the party and in the state. Singh's was an eloquent orator and a talented manager, his firm grip over voters had always helped the party. He was known as the party's "Trouble-shooting leader" and was known for handling internal disputes within the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was even predicted to be the first Jat Chief Minister of Rajasthan, as he held a strong influence at the national level on the community.