NEW DELHI, July 08, SPA -- Former Indian prime minister and socialist legislator Chandra Shekhar died of cancer in New Delhi hospital Sunday, news reports said. He was 80. Shekhar, a legislator from the northern state of UttarPradesh, headed a coalition government for a brief periodin 1990-91. He was a member of the Congress party until the 1970s,when he left to join the Janata Party or People's Party. In1990 he formed the new Samajwadi Janata Party, or Socialist People's Party. «He was suffering from multiple myeloma,» the PressTrust of India news agency quoted Rakesh Chopra, the senior oncologist who tended Shekhar, as saying. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a secular nationalist who was committed to people's welfare and national development, Press Trust of India reported. He is survived by two sons. His funeral will be held onMonday, the agency said.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/465705