Guwahati, March 10 Veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Biren Singh Engti died at a private hospital here on Tuesday. He was 81 years old.
A party spokesperson said that Engti was brought to Guwahati from his residence in Diphu for treatment and passed away this morning.
"The body has been taken to Diphu, where last respects will be paid," the spokesperson added.
Engti, who had served as a five-time Member of Parliament from the Diphu constituency, had also served as a Minister of State in the Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre.
Having entered the Lok Sabha in the 1970s, the veteran leader from Karbi Anglong had won his last election to the lower house in 2014.
He had also served as the Chief Executive Member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.
Condoling Engti's death, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X: "The passing away of Shri Biren Singh Engti, a veteran leader from Karbi Anglong and former Union Minister, is a great loss for Assam."
"His years of service to the people and efforts for the development of the hill regions will always be remembered," Sarma added, extending his condolences to the bereaved family.
State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, in a post on Facebook, said the death of Engti is an "irreparable loss not only to the hill district but the entire political field of the state".
"Deeply saddened at the news of the death of a senior leader of Assam Congress, former Union minister and my late father's friend, Biren Singh Engti," Gogoi said.
Gogoi, son of three-time Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, recalled the time spent during his childhood in Delhi with Engti's family.
"May his departed soul rest in peace and deepest condolences to the bereaved family," he added.