Former Himachal minister Parveen Sharma dead

Una, August 4

Former state minister Parveen Sharma, who died at his home in Amb town of the district this morning, was cremated with full state honours. He was 65 years old and was ailing for some time. His son Parth Sharma lit the pyre.

Parveen represented Chintpurni and was elected to the Assembly in 1998. The then Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal appointed him as Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Excise and Taxation.

During the BJP’s regime from 2007 to 2012, though Parveen had lost the Assembly election, he was appointed as Chairman of the HP State Water Management Board by Dhumal. He was the Vice-Chairman of HIMUDA and vice-president in the state BJP organisation.

Parveen was Dhumal’s political troubleshooter and remained the latter’s campaign in-charge in almost all elections. He was the in-charge of elections to the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat contested by BJP candidate Anurag Thakur twice .

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has sent a condolence message to Parveen’s family members and expressed grief over his death and called Parveen an honest and dedicated leader.

Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar, Forest Minister Rakesh Pathania, Chairman of the State Finance Commission Satpal Singh Satti, former CM PK Dhumal, Chintpurni MLA Balbir Singh, HPSIDC Vice-Chairman Ram Kumar, HRTC Vice-Chairman Vijay Agnihotri, DC Raghav Sharma and former Rajya Sabha MP Kirpal Parmar paid floral tributes to the leader.

Lost a friend: Dhumal

• Prem Kumar Dhumal, former Chief Minister, said, “I have lost a friend and the void created due to the death of Parveen Sharma cannot be filled.”
• Dhumal said Parveen had dedicated his life to the BJP. He was a nationalist and had exceptional organisational skills. His contributions would always be remembered.
• MLA Narender Thakur said Parveen had great leadership qualities and was a devoted leader and visionary politician.