E-Paper
Five-time legislator Kuldeep Pathania set to be Speaker of 14th HP assembly
Kuldeep Singh Pathania would be the 18th speaker of Himachal Pradesh assembly and third person from Chamba district to serve at the post after Desh Raj Mahajan and Tulsi Ram
Congress legislator from Bhattiyat assembly constituency in Chamba district, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, is all set to become the speaker of the 14th Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly.
After days of suspense, the five-time legislator was chosen as the candidate for the constitutional post after which Pathania filed his nomination papers.
“I am thankful to the leader of Opposition that he seconded the name of Kuldeep Singh Pathania which I had proposed,” said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
He said deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Solan MLA Dhani Ram Shandil were also the proposers, while Shillai MLA Harshvardhan Chauhan and former speaker Vipin Singh Parmar seconded the proposal.
The election for the speaker will be held on Thursday. If elected, which is a certainty, he would be the 18th speaker of Himachal Pradesh assembly and third person from Chamba district to serve at the post after Desh Raj Mahajan and Tulsi Ram.
Born at Chhalara village in Chamba on September 17, 1957, Pathania obtained his BSc degree from Lucknow university and law degree from Himachal Pradesh University.
He was a leader of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) during his college days and used to organised awareness camps for farmers and labourers in Bhattiyat. He also provided free legal aid to underprivileged people.
Pathania was first elected to the assembly on the Congress ticket in 1985. He was re-elected in 1993 and then in 2003 as an Independent. He was elected for the fourth time in 2007 as a Congress candidate.
He remained chairperson of committees on public undertakings and subordinate legislations, besides being a member of estimates committee, PAC, PUC and various other House panels.
He was also a member of various apex government committees and held the post of state finance commission chairperson.
During the Virbhadra Singh government from 2012-2017, Pathania was the chairperson of the state pollution control board.
