Bansi Lal

Bansi Lal Legha (26 August 1927 – 28 March 2006) was an Indian independence activist, senior Congress leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana, former Defense Minister of India, and considered by many to be the architect of modern Haryana.^[1] Bansi Lal was part of the famous Lal trio of Haryana which also included 'Tau' Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal, that form the major Political families of Haryana.^[2]

Lal was elected to the Haryana State Assembly seven times, the first time in 1967 from Tosham. He served three separate terms as Chief Minister of Haryana: 1968–75, 1986–87, and 1996–99. Bansi Lal was considered a close confidante of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency era of 1975 -1977. ^[3]

His younger son died at 59 in 2005

He served as the Defence Minister from December 1975 to March 1977, and had a brief stint as a Minister without Portfolio in the Union government in 1975. He also held the Railways and Transport portfolios.

He set up Haryana Vikas Party after parting ways with the Indian National Congress in 1996. He returned to Congress in 2004, and helped the Congress to win the 2005 Assembly elections.^[4]

Early life[]

He was born on 26 August 1927 to Choudhary Mohar Singh and Shrimati Vidya Devi^[5] belonging to Hindu Jat community^[6] in the village of Golagarh in Bhiwani district, British Punjab (now Haryana). Following his marriage, Lal had two sons, Surendra Singh, and Ranbir Singh Mahendra.^[7]

Education[]

Bansi Lal did his BA in arts, followed by LLB (law degree), for which he studied at the Punjab University Law College, Jalandhar.^[8]

Political career[]

• Lal was secretary of Parja mandal in the Loharu State, from 1943 to 1944.
• Lal was president of the Bar Association, Bhiwani from 1957 to 1958. He was president of the District Congress Committee, Hisar, from 1959 to 1962 and later became a member of the Congress Working Committee and Congress Parliamentary Board.
• He was a member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee between 1958 and 1962.
• He was Haryana's Chief Minister : from 1968 to 1975 (Congress), 1985 to 1987 (Congress), and 1996 to 1999 with Haryana Vikas Party.
• He was the Defence minister of India from December 1975 to March 1977.
• He was also the chairman of the Committee of Parliament and Committee on Public Undertakings, 1980–82, and the Committee on Estimates, 1982–84.
• He became railways minister on 31 December 1984 in Rajiv Gandhi's ministry and later minister for transport.
• He was elected to the Haryana State Assembly five times from Tosham (1967, 1972, 1986 bye-poll, 1991, 1996). He lost once from Tosham in 1987 Devi Lal wave, just a few months after winning the seat with more than 80,000 votes in 1986. ^[9]
• He was a Rajya Sabha member from 1960 to 1966 and 1976 to 1980. He was a Lok Sabha member from Bhiwani three times : 1980 to 1984, 1985 to 1986, and 1989 to 1991. He lost from Bhiwani in 1977 Janata wave.
• After he parted company with Congress in 1996, Bansi Lal set up the Haryana Vikas Party and his campaign against prohibition propelled him to power in the assembly polls the same year.
• Chronologically : Rajya Sabha MP (1960-1966), Haryana MLA (1967-1975), Rajya Sabha (1976-1980 but lost Bhiwani Lok Sabha election in 1977), Lok Sabha MP from 1980-1984, 1984-1986, Haryana MLA 1986-1987, lost assembly election in 1987, became Lok Sabha MP 1989-1991, Haryana MLA 1991-1996 and 1996 to 2000.

Chief Minister of Haryana[]

Bansi Lal became the Chief Minister of Haryana four times in 1968, 1972, 1986 and 1996. He was the third chief minister of Haryana after Bhagwat Dayal Sharma and Rao Birender Singh. He became Haryana chief minister for the first time on 31 May 1968 and remained in office till 13 March 1972. On 14 March 1972, he occupied the top post in the state for the second time and was in office till 29 November 1975. The third and fourth times he was appointed chief minister was from 5 June 1986 to 19 June 1987 and 11 May 1996 to 23 July 1999.

Bansi Lal was elected to the state assembly seven times, the first time being in 1967. After Haryana was formed in 1966, much of the state's industrial and agricultural development, especially creation of infrastructure, took place due to Lal's initiatives. He was elected to the state assembly for seven times in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1986, 1991 and 2000.

He was responsible for electrifying all villages in Haryana during his tenure as chief minister in the late sixties and seventies. He was also the pioneer of highway tourism in the state – a model later adopted by a number of states. He is regarded by many as an "Iron man" who was always close to reality and took keen interest in the upliftment of the community. Lal became one of the first Chief Ministers to visit Israel, when he led a delegation of agriculturalists and sarpanches to the country in 1971.

Bansi Lal also brought the Maruti Car project to Haryana, as he provided over 300 acres of land for Maruti factory, which was Sanjay Gandhi's dream cheap car project, though there was some controversy also as the land deal involved around 15,000 farmers, who were evicted to free the land.^[10]

Bansi Lal did not contest the assembly elections in 2005 but his sons Surender Singh and Ranbir Singh Mahendra were elected to the state assembly. Surender Singh died in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on 31 March 2005.

Role during Emergency[]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Lal was in the limelight when Emergency was imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. He was a confidante of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during the controversial Emergency days in 1975. He was part of a cabal around Sanjay Gandhi, along with V C Shukla, Om Mehta, et al., which came to be known as 'the Emergency caucus'. This group, led by Sanjay Gandhi, was said to be responsible for various harsh steps during the Emergency.^[11]

He was the defence minister from 21 December 1975 to 24 March 1977 and a minister without portfolio in the Union government from 1 December 1975 to 20 December 1975. The Shah Commission of Inquiry which was formed at end of the Emergency noted that Lal often misused his official position for personal reasons.^[12]

Death[]

Lal died in New Delhi on 28 March 2006 at the age of 79. He had been unwell for quite some time.^[13]

Awards and honours[]

• In 1972, the Kurukshetra University and the Haryana Agricultural University awarded him honorary degrees of Doctor of Law and Doctor of Science respectively.

Legacy[]

• In 2008, the Jui canal was named the Bansi Lal Canal in his memory.^[14]
• In 2014, Chaudhary Bansi Lal University was created in Bhiwani in his memory.

Prominent Family Members[]

• Lal's elder son, Ranbir Singh Mahendra served as President of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).
• Lal's younger son's wife, Mrs. Kiran Choudhry, is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (2005,2009, 2014) from Tosham constituency. She was cabinet minister in Bhupinder Singh Hooda's government from 2009–14.
• Lal's grand daughter, Mrs. Shruti Choudhry, was a Member of the Parliament (2009) from Bhiwani constituency. She lost the 2014 general elections from same constituency.

See also[]

• Aaya Ram Gaya Ram
• Dynastic politics of Haryana

References[]

• Bansi Lal: Chief Minister of Haryana By S. R. Bakshi, Sita Ram Sharma 1998 ISBN 9788170249856