HP Assembly adjourned after MP Ram Swaroop Sharma’s demise

Tribune News Service
Shimla, March 17

Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Vipin Parmar on Wednesday adjourned the house after members condoled the demise of Mandi MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.

The proceedings for the day started with members across party lines expressing grief and shock on the death of two-time BJP Lok Sabha MP.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur led the house in paying tributes to the departed soul.

Also read: Ram Swaroop Sharma second Lok Sabha MP to die under mysterious circumstances in a month

Ministers and legislators remembered Sharma as a mild-mannered, humble leader who was dedicated to the party and served the people selflessly. The Speaker adjourned the house after obituaries.

Sharma hailed from Johindernagar area of Mandi and was associated with the RSS right from his early days.

State BJP President Suresh Kashyap said Sharma’s demise was a big loss to the party.

Also read: Mandi BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma dies at 62; suicide suspected

He said Sharma was a “great personality, down to earth and soft-spoken, who remained a grassroots level leader”.

He remained the state organisational secretary and two-time vice president of the state BJP.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he fought from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat defeating Pratibha Singh, wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. He again won for the second time in 2019 from the same seat.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Sharma’s death had left the party “shocked and shattered”. He said Sharma’s biggest strength was his easy accessibility and humility. The CM said the MP held the record of winning by the highest ever margin of 4.05 lakh from the Mandi seat. He said the cause of the death would be known only after the post-mortem.