Guwahati, May 7 (IANS): Former Union minister and Congress leader from Assam, Matang Sinh, passed away at a hospital in New Delhi on Thursday due to Covid-19, party sources said here.

Hailing from Tinsukia in eastern Assam, the 59-year-old Congress leader was a close aide of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam in 1992.

He had tested positive for coronavirus on April 22 and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the national capital.

Sinh had served as the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs from 1994 to 1998 during which he played an important role in most of the decisions relating to the northeast region.

The coal businessman-turned-politician was expelled from the Congress in 1998 on disciplinary grounds following his controversial remarks against party president Sonia Gandhi.

In 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Sinh, who had launched several television channels, for his involvement in the Saradha chit fund scam.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condoled the death of Sinh.