Bhubaneswar, Aug. 7 -- Former Odisha Minister and ex-Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Bibhuti Bhushan Singh Mardaraj, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar early this morning following a prolonged illness.
He was 70.
Singh Mardaraj is survived by his wife Rani Devaki Devi Kumari, son Siddharth Shekhar Singh,
a former MLA and daughter Rajkumari Aradhana**.
A scion of the Khandapada royal family, he was the son of Harihar Singh Mardaraj Bhramarbar Rai, the last ruler of the Khandapara princely state before its merger with Odisha on January 1, 1948.
Harihar Singh Mardaraj later served as a minister in the Biju Patnaik-led Congress government in 1961.
Born on January 4, 1955, Bibhuti Bhushan Singh Mardaraj pur...