Lakkhiram Agarwal

Lakkhiram Agarwal
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
1 November 2000 – 9 April 2002
Succeeded byRamadhar Kashyap
ConstituencyChhattisgarh
In office
10 April 1990 – 31 October 2000
ConstituencyMadhya Pradesh
Personal details
Born(1932-02-13)13 February 1932
Kharsia, Central Provinces and Berar, British India
Died24 January 2009(2009-01-24) (aged 76)
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseMarwan Devi
ChildrenAmar Agrawal,Sajan Agrawal,Manoj Agrawal, Bajrang Agrawal
Parent(s)Mansha Ram Agarwal (father)
Rukmani Devi (mother)
EducationMiddle school
OccupationPhilanthropist, Social worker, Humanitarian, Businessman

Lakkhiram Agarwal (13 February 1932 – 24 January 2009) was an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1990 to 2002 representing Madhya Pradesh and later Chhattisgarh.[1] He was the state president of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh from 1990 to 2000, and became the state president of Chhattisgarh BJP after the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh.[2]

Personal life

Lakhiram Agrawal was born on 13 February 1932 to Mansha Ram Agrawal and Rukmani Devi in Kharsia, Raigarh district.[1] He married Marwan Devi in 1950 and had five sons and one daughter. His son Amar Agrawal is a cabinet minister in the Government of Chhattisgarh, holding the portfolios of Taxation, Commerce and the Public health Department.[2][3] He was educated until middle school in Naharpalli, Kharsia.[1]

Political career

Agrawal became active in politics in 1960.[2] He had served as the chairman of Kharsia municipal council from 1964 to 1969, the president of the District Cooperative Bank, Raigarh from 1977 to 1980, and the vice-president of the Madhya Pradesh State Marketing Association from 1977 to 1980.[1] He was detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act in 1975 during the emergency.[2] He became the State General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh BJP in 1983.[4] He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 10 April 1990 to 31 October 2000 representing Madhya Pradesh, and from 1 November 2000 to 9 April 2002 representing Chhattisgarh.[1] Agrawal was a supporter of the formation of Chhattisgarh as a separate state.[5] Nand Kumar Sai, in a 2010 interview, said that Agrawal was one of the contenders for the chief minister post after the 2003 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election, along with Raman Singh and Dilip Singh Judeo.[6]

Death

Agrawal died on 24 January 2009 after being admitted to Apollo Hospital, Bilaspur.[7] He was cremated with state honors in Kharsia. Raman Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Chandra Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan, and Vikram Verma attended the funeral and paid their tributes to Agrawal.[2] Chauhan termed Agrawal as "an organiser and a devotee of nationalist values".[7]

Legacy

A medical college in Raigarh was named after Agrawal in 2013.[8] During the inauguration of a statue of Agrawal by Nitin Gadkari in Kharsia, Raman Singh said that Agrawal was a contributor to the "identity of Chhattisgarh as a developed state".[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Alphabetical List Of Former Members Of Rajya Sabha Since 1952". Rajya Sabha. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Lakhiram Agrawal cremated with state honours". Kharsia: webindia123.com. United News of India. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. ^ "छत्तीसगढ़ मंत्रिमंडल" (in Hindi). Chief Minister Office, Chhattisgarh. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  4. ^ "लखीराम अग्रवाल पंचतत्व में विलीन" (in Hindi). Kharsia: Webdunia.
  5. ^ Louise Tillin (1 October 2013). Remapping India: New States and their Political Origins. Hurst Publishers. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-84904-229-1.
  6. ^ Tariq Thachil (17 November 2014). Elite Parties, Poor Voters. Cambridge University Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-107-07008-0.
  7. ^ a b "Senior BJP leader Lakhiram Agarwal passes away". news.webindia123.com. Bilaspur: webindia123.com. United News of India. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  8. ^ "CM to open fifth medical college at Raigarh today". Raigarh: The Pioneer. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  9. ^ "रायगढ़ मेडिकल कॉलेज का नामकरण स्वर्गीय श्री लखीराम अग्रवाल के नाम पर होगा". Raipur: Department of Public Relation, Government of Chhattisgarh. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2016.