Rajeev Bindal is new Himachal speaker
Nahan legislator is a graduate in Ayurvedic medicine
DHARAMSHALA: Senior BJP leader Rajeev Bindal was on Wednesday unanimously elected as speaker of the 13th HP egislative assembly. Four resolutions nominating Bindal as speaker were moved by the treasury and opposition benches. CM Jai Ram Thakur was the first to propose the resolution.
DHARAMSHALA: Senior BJP leader Rajeev Bindal was on Wednesday unanimously elected as speaker of the 13th Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly.
Four resolutions nominating Bindal as speaker were moved by the treasury and opposition benches. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur was the first to propose the resolution, which was seconded by education minister Suresh Bhardwaj. Pro tem speaker Ramesh Dhawala moved the resolution which was adopted by the House and Bindal was declared as speaker.
Another resolution was moved by Congress Legislative Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and seconded by Virbhadra Singh. Two more resolutions were moved nominating his name. All four were passed by voice votes.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri later escorted Bindal to the chair. Congratulating him, the CM remembered his long association with Bindal and services he rendered for the party for over 18 years.
Assuring full cooperation of the government in smooth functioning of the House, Thakur also expressed gratitude to the opposition for unanimous election of the speaker.
The five-term legislator Bindal has earlier remained health minister in BJP government from 2007 to 2012.
Bindal assured that he will be impartial and give equal opportunity to all the members to raise their issues. “There has been a generational shift in the leadership and I am hopeful that young leaders will take the state to new heights,” said Bindal. “Jai Ram raj will lead the state to Ram Rajya,” he added.
WHO IS RAJEEV BINDAL?
Born at Solan in 1955, Bindal is a graduate in Ayurvedic medicine and surgery. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) man since his childhood, Bindal was jailed for six months during emergency. He started his political career in 1995, when he was elected chairman of Municipal Committee, Solan.
Bindal was elected to the state assembly in a by election for Solan assembly segment in 2000. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He shifted to Nahan after his constituency was reserved in a delimitation exercise, where he again registered a win. He won his fifth term in the assembly in December last year.
SHUN VENDETTA POLITICS: GUV TO MLAS
Himachal Pradesh governor Acharya Devvrat on Wednesday appealed to government and opposition to work together for development of the state.
“I urge the government and opposition to work together with a positive outlook and an objective to take the state to the acme of development without getting entangled in vendetta politics. The ill-will which cropped up during the campaign needs to be forgotten,” the governor said during his address to the legislative assembly on the second day of first session of the 13th assembly.
The governor also congratulated the newly elected members and added that people have given them a responsibility of making all possible efforts for the development of the state.
“There has been a new opening and I wish new niches of progress and development are carved out,” the governor said.
Lauding participation of people in the election process, the governor said, “Assembly election proved that people of the state have absolute freedom in electing their favourite government.” He added that since the government taken over recently, it is a small period to make a comment on its performance. “However, the government has been prompt enough to take some important decisions for welfare of people such as lowering the age limit for social security pension and releasing dearness allowance to employees,” he said.
Outlining the priorities of the government, he said the state government has adopted ‘Swarnim Himachal Drishati Patra2017’ as a policy document and already started working on it. “Maintaining law and order will be the top priority of my government,” he added.
He said efforts will be made to enable youth capable of getting and generating employment avenues at their own.
HANS RAJ UNANIMOUS CHOICE FOR DEPUTY SPEAKER
The ruling BJP has picked Churah legislator Hans Raj for the post of deputy speaker of the HP legislative assembly.
Election for the deputy speaker will be held on Thursday and Hansraj is likely to be elected unanimously as Congress has also decided to support him.
The govt and oppn should work together with a positive outlook and an objective to take the state to the acme of development without getting entangled in vendetta politics.
ACHARYA DEVVRAT, HP governor