Obituary: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed a true statesman, great leader

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor Digvijay Singh on Thursday condoled the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, saying the true statesman was a great leader and a greater human being.

Both leaders took to Twitter to express their grief.

"Deeply condole the demise of J&K CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. A true statesman who understood hearts of people. May his soul rest in peace," Shivraj said in a tweet.

Digvijay on his part expressed sorry to hear about Sayeed's demise.

"Sorry to hear about the sad demise of Mufti Saheb. A great Leader & a greater Human Being. We shall all miss him. May his Soul rest in Peace," he tweeted.

79-year-old Sayeed passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) this morning after suffering multiple organ failure.

He was admitted in a private ward at the AIIMS on December 24 after he complained of fever and chest pain.

Several prominent leaders, including Vice President Mohamed Hamid Ansari, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti visited the AIIMS on hearing of Sayeed's demise.

Sayeed, who was born in 1936 in Bijbehara, Jammu and Kashmir, had previously served as Chief Minister from 2002 to 2005. He was also the Home Minister of India from December 1989 to November 1990.

He had founded the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in 1999.