YS Parmar’s birth anniversary to be celebrated in schools: CM

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, August 4

On the 113th birth anniversary of Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first state Chief Minister, members of his family today urged the authorities to include a chapter on his life and struggle in school textbooks.

Addressing mediapersons at their ancestral house at Bagthan, the former Chief Minister’s son Luv Parmar and his granddaughter Chetna Singh Kanwar said the state government should introduce a chapter on the life, struggle and contribution of Yashwant Parmar to the development of Himachal Pradesh in schools.

At the state-level function held in Shimla, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced that Dr Parmar’s birth anniversary would be celebrated in schools and colleges. Earlier, he paid floral tribute to the great leader on The Ridge and later attended a function organised at the Vidhan Sabha.

“We are following in the footsteps of the first Chief Minister to ensure a uniform and balanced development of Himachal, which has now become a role model for other states”, he said.

“ Dr Parmar was a visionary. He spearheaded the struggle to attain an independent status for Himachal and laid a strong foundation for the development of road network, even though the state did not have enough resources then”, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister honoured Dr Parmar’s son Kush Parmar, his wife Satya Parmar and released two books on his life.

Leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, who was also present, extended his gratitude to the Chief Minister for organising the function to remember the first Chief Minister of Himachal.

Thakur has put state on sale: Rathore

• Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Kuldeep Rathore organised a separate state-level functions at Bagthan, the birth place of the former Chief Minister, to remember the great leader. 
• Addressing a gathering, Rathore accused the Jai Ram Thakur-led government of selling Himachal to big business houses. "The first CM had introduced Section 118, prohibiting the sale of land to outsiders. I urge the residents of the state to save Himachal from the BJP that has put it on sale," alleged the Congress leader.
• Senior Congress leaders — Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh Thakur, Kuldeep Kumar, Harshvardhan Chauhan, Vikramaditya Singh and Vinay Kumar — also paid homage to Dr Parmar. However, former CM Virbhadra Singh was conspicuous by his absence.