Chander Kumar appointed pro tem speaker in Himachal House

Congress leader and senior MLA from Jawali Chander Kumar took the oath of office of pro tem speaker in the presence of Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a simple ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here on Monday

Congress leader and senior MLA from Jawali Chander Kumar took the oath of office of pro tem speaker in the presence of Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a simple ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here on Monday.

Congress leader Chander Kumar taking the oath of office of pro tem speaker in the presence of Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the Raj Bhawan in Shimla on Monday. (HT Photo)

Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri was also present.

Born on May 8, 1944, in Dhan village in Jawali of Kangra district, Chander is the senior-most member of the House.

He started his career as a trained graduate teacher and later resigned to join politics.

He was elected to the assembly in 1982 and re-elected in 1985, 1993, 1998 and 2003. He was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Kangra in 2004.

Bharat Khera, principal secretary, general administration, conducted the proceedings.

Principal adviser (media) to CM Naresh Chauhan, OSD to CM Gopal Sharma, chief secretary RD Dhiman and other MLAs besides senior officers of the state government were also present on the occasion.