Thakur Ram Lal (7 July 1929 – 6 July 2002) was an Indian politician and a leader of the Indian National Congress from Himachal Pradesh.

Thakur Ram Lal
12th Governor of Andhra Pradesh
In office
15 August 1983 – 29 August 1984
Chief MinisterN. T. Rama Rao
N. Bhaskara Rao
Preceded byK. C. Abraham
Succeeded byShankar Dayal Sharma
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh
In office
14 February 1980 – 7 April 1983
GovernorAmin ud-din Ahmad Khan
A. K. Banerjee
Preceded byShanta Kumar
Succeeded byVirbhadra Singh
In office
28 January 1977 – 30 April 1977
GovernorS. Chakravarti
Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan
Preceded byYashwant Singh Parmar
Succeeded byPresident's Rule
Personal details
Born7 July 1929
Simla, Punjab, British India
Died6 July 2002(2002-07-06) (aged 72)
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
ResidenceShimla
OccupationPolitician

Political career

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Himachal Pradesh

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He was elected to the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha from the Jubbal-Kotkhai constituency in nine times from 1957 to 1982. He briefly served as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from 28 January 1977 to 30 April 1977. In the 1977 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, he withstood the anti-Congress wave in elections conducted after The Emergency to win 60.2 percent of the votes in Jubbal-Kotkhai but saw the Congress reduced to 9 seats from the previous 53.[1] He served as the leader of opposition in the legislative assembly from 29 June 1977 to 13 February 1980.

He again became the Chief Minister on 14 February 1980 and remained in office till 7 April 1983.[2] He was forced to resign as chief minister in the aftermath of his son Jagdish Thakur's conviction for timber smuggling in January 1983. Lal's government was accused of soft pedalling against a large-scale illegal lumbering operation run by Jagdish Thakur and Mast Ram Taunta. The Himachal Pradesh state Enforcement Directorate and Himachal Pradesh Police registered more 700 cases of timber smuggling worth over Rs 90 lakh until 31 March 1983.[3][4]

Governor of Andhra Pradesh

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Ram Lal was appointed the Governor of Andhra Pradesh on 15 August 1983. While Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao of the Telugu Desam Party was in the United States for surgery, he appointed finance minister N. Bhaskara Rao as the chief minister ostensibly at the behest of the leadership of the Congress party despite Bhaskara Rao having the support of no more than 20% of the legislators.[5] On his return, NTR launched a popular campaign against Ram Lal and the Congress Party leading to President Zail Singh to dismiss Ram Lal on 29 August 1984 and NTR being re-appointed the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Death

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Thakur Ram Lal died on 6 July 2002 in Shimla following a massive cardiac arrest. He was survived by four daughters, a son and grandson and a granddaughter, two great granddaughters and one great grandson.[1]

His grandson, Rohit Thakur is an MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai.

References

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  1. ^ a b "HP ex-CM Thakur Ramlal dead | Chandigarh News - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  2. ^ Chawla, Prabhu (21 October 1983). "Thakur Ram Lal resigns as Himachal Pradesh CM to pave the way for Virbhadra Singh". India Today. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ Prabhu, Chawla (30 October 1983). "Thakur Ram Lal resigns as Himachal Pradesh CM to pave the way for Virbhadra Singh". India Today. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  4. ^ "HP ex-CM Thakur Ramlal dead". The Times of India. Chandigarh. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  5. ^ Chawla, Prabhu (18 July 1983). "Timber smuggling case haunts former Himachal Pradesh CM Thakur Ram Lal". India Today. Retrieved 17 August 2020.