CABINET PAYS HOMAGE TO EX-CM PAHADIA

Veteran Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Jagannath Pahadia passed away due to Covid-19 infection on Wednesday night.

He was 89 years old. He was cremated with the state honour on Thursday.

Pahadia, who was the state chief minister of Rajasthan from 1980 to 81, also served as the governor of Haryana and Bihar.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot paid his condolence on Pahadia’s death. “Pahadia left us because of Covid. I am very shocked by his demise. He had a lot of affection for me right from the beginning,” Gehlot tweeted. He said his death was a personal loss to him.

The state government announced a daylong mourning on Thursday. Government offices remain closed during the day, while the national flag flied half-mast.

A cabinet meeting was held in the afternoon to pay homage to Pahadia. The cabinet passed a grief resolution and observed two-minute silence in respect of the departed leader.

Pahadia was born on January 15, 1932, in Bhusawar region of Bharatpur district. He did his post graduation in arts and LLB from the University of Rajasthan. He served as a legislator from 1957 to 1962 and from 1967 to 1977, following which he was elected as the Lok Sabha member in 1980. Earlier, he also served as the Rajya Sabha member from 1965 to 1967.

Later, he served as the MLA from 1980 to 1985, 1985 to 1990, 1990 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2008. Pahadia also served as the chief minister of Rajasthan from June 6, 1980 to July 14, 1981. He held the post of governor in Bihar from 1989 to 1990 and Haryana from 2009 to 2014.