Himachal assembly pays homage to Sukh Ram, three ex-MLAs

The last session of the 13th Himachal Pradesh assembly began on Wednesday, with the House offering condolences to mourn the death of former Union minister Sukh Ram and former MLAs Roop Singh Chauhan, Mast Ram and Praveen Sharma.

The condolence motion was presented by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar and Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania paid tributes to the departed souls.

Several other legislators, including Sukh Ram’s son Anil Sharma, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rohit Thakur, Vinay Kumar, Dhani Ram Shandil, Rajeev Bindal, Rakesh Singha, Balbir Singh, Rakesh Jamwal, Vikramditya Singh and Hira Lal, paid tributes to the former legislators.

This four-day monsoon session (August 10-13) is the last session of the House before the assembly elections are held later this year.

Sukh Ram breathed his last at AIIMS New Delhi on May 11 after suffering a brain stroke. A five-time MLA and three-time MP, he had served as the Union minister of state for communications (independent charge) between 1993 and 1996.

Standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the Centre and the state government in view of Covid and monkeypox are being followed in the House, officials said.

Wearing of masks and maintaining social distance protocols have been made mandatory.

Thermal scanning is being done at the gates of the assembly. Number of visitors allowed to watch the proceeding has been restricted to half the capacity of the gallery.

The state is expected to go to polls in December.