Shakti Sinha, former bureaucrat and private secretary to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, passes away

New Delhi: Shakti Sinha, former bureaucrat and academician who was private secretary to late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, passed away on Monday. The cause of his death was not immediately known. Political leaders and other dignitaries expressed shock and grief over Sinha’s sudden demise and recalled his contribution as a strategic thinker and leader in public policy. “How fragile the life is! Met Shakti Sinha ji only yesterday and had a long and enriching interaction. Now he’s no more. Deeply distressing!,” Ajay Singh, Press Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind, tweeted. BJP leader Ram Madhav said Sinha was a member of the Governing Board of India Foundation and was scheduled to address a conference at Leh this afternoon. “A humble and unassuming yet erudite and intellectual being a great loss. Deepest condolences. Aum,” he tweeted. Sinha, an IAS officer of the 1979 batch, was also former Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). “The Press Club of India is shocked at the untimely passing of Shakti Sinha, former bureaucrat and Director of Nehru Memorial Library and Museum at Teen Murti, academician and author. Mr Sinha was part of a PCI discussion just a few days ago. We mourn his untimely demise,” the PCI tweeted. Sinha worked closely with Vajpayee during 1996-1999 and had written a memoir titled ‘Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India’. Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed sadness at Sinha’s demise. “We lost a very eminent person. His wonderful work & gentle soul will forever remain in our heart. I pray Lord Buddha for strength to bereaved family. May the departed soul attain Moksha,” he tweeted.