Former Rajasthan CM Jagannath Pahadia passes away at 89

Jaipur, May 20, 2021

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Jagannath Pahadia passed away at a hospital in Gurugram, near Delhi, on Wednesday due to COVID-19. He was 89.

He was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in 1980-81 and also served as the Governor of Haryana and Bihar.

The Rajasthan government has announced one-day mourning on Thursday in honour of Pahadia, announcing "during the period, all government offices will remain shut and the national flag will be flown at half-mast".

"Rajasthan will observe one day of state mourning in honour of former CM Jagannath Pahadia and the national flag will be flown at half-mast. All government offices to remain closed today. His last rites will be performed with full state honours," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Twitter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the demise of Pahadia.

"Saddened by the demise of former Rajasthan CM, Shri Jagannath Pahadia Ji. In his long political and administrative career, he made noteworthy contributions to further social empowerment. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti," he said on Twitter.

Born on January 15, 1932 at Bhusawar in the present-day district of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in a Dalit family, Pahadia, a Congress leader, had a Master's degree in Arts and a degree in law.

He was elected as a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly in 1980, 1985, 1999 and 20033. He was the first Dalit leader to become the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, from June 9, 1980 to July 14, 1981.

He was before that a four-time Member of Parliament, elected to the 2nd Lok Sabha from Sawai Madhopur (1957) and the 4th (1967), 5th (1971) and 7th Lok Sabha (1980) from Bayana in Rajasthan. He had also served as a junior minister at the Centre during this period.

Later, he served as Governor of Bihar from March 3, 1989 to February 2, 1990 and the Governor of Haryana from July 27, 2009 to July 26, 2014.

NNN