Mandi: Former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram passed away last night during treatment after a brain stroke at AIIMS Delhi on Tuesday night. Sukh Ram was 95 years old and was known for ushering in the telecom revolution in the country.
Expressing grief, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said Pt. Sukh Ram was a great visionary leader who would always be remembered for bringing about the telecom revolution in the country. “In his death, the country in general and Himachal Pradesh in particular has lost an outstanding parliamentarian who was open for new ideas and initiatives,” said Thakur.
First elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1962, he was re-elected as a Congress candidate in 1967, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1998 and 2003. Sukh also served in the cabinet of Dr YS Parmar, the first chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.
During his long term as a legislative member, Sukh Ram was part of the state cabinet from 1967-72, 1980-85 and from 24th March, 1998 to 7th May, 1998, where he held several important ministries including Power, PWD, Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Irrigation.
He was elected to Lok Sabha from Mandi Constituency in 1985, 1991 and 1996 and also remained Union Minister of State holding various portfolios including the all important Telecommunication Minister at the time when the country opened up the telecom sector for the private sector.
A senior journalist who has spent more than a decade in the profession, working for Amar Ujala and Aapka Faisla.
