Man who set Deputy CM precedent in state

Dinesh Manhotra

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 3

It was merely a coincidence that exactly 14 years after Mangat Ram Sharma created history by taking oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of the coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the veteran Congress leader breathed his last.

Pandit Mangat Ram had created history by becoming the first Deputy Chief Minister from the Congress. He was the second Deputy Chief Minister from the Jammu region.

In 1984, Devi Das Thakur, a Supreme Court lawyer, became the first Deputy Chief Minister from the Jammu region in the government headed by GM Shah. He was not a Congress leader.

It was only with the appointment of Mangat Ram as the Deputy Chief Minister that a precedent had been set to appoint the Deputy Chief Minister from the Jammu region if the Chief Minister was from the Kashmir valley to ease acrimonious tension between the two regions.

In his six-decade-long political career, Mangat Ram had served the state in different capacities. He was the only leader in the state to earn respect in all three regions of J&K.

He was known for his accessibility and unlike other politicians, was easily available to the common man during his days in power. He remained as troubleshooter for the Congress for years together.

Mangat Ram had effectively handled the controversial Jammu and Kashmir Permanent Residents Women (Disqualification) Bill in 2004 and saved the then coalition regime.

He had started his career as a social activist in the early 1950s. He resigned from government service as Block Development Officer and joined active politics in the 1960s.

In 1972, he entered the Assembly from the Basohli segment of Kathua district in the Jammu region on Congress ticket. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 1977 and 1983.

He was made a Member of the Legislative Council in 1961 and 1968. He was elected as MLA from the Jammu West Assembly constituencies in 1987 and 2002. In the 1996 General Election, he won from the Jammu-Poonch segment.

He was described in political circles as one of the most astute politicians and was close to the Gandhi family. As Speaker of the Assembly, he earned respect among the legislators for his unassuming and impartial nature.

Born on November 18, 1926, in Jammu, Mangat Ram was a prominent politician of the Congress. He graduated from the GGM Science College J&K University, in 1952.

At the fag end of his career, the Congress leadership did not give him due respect. Mangat Ram joined the Peoples Democratic Party on November 25, 2014, but never became active.

He is survived by six sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.