Summary
Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala (born 1 October 1954) is an Indian politician and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the Second Modi ministry.[1] He is a member of Rajya Sabha,[2] representing the Indian state of Gujarat and a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was a former member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Amreli and formerly served as a minister in Government of Gujarat.
Parshottam Rupala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Giriraj Singh |
| Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare | |
| In office 5 July 2016 – 7 July 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Radha Mohan Singh Narendra Singh Tomar |
| Minister of State for Panchayati Raj | |
| In office 5 July 2016 – 30 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Narendra Singh Tomar |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 1 June 2016 – 2 April 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Praveen Rashtrapal |
| Succeeded by | J. P. Nadda |
| Constituency | Gujarat |
| In office 10 April 2008 – 9 April 2014 | |
| Constituency | Gujarat |
| President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Gujarat | |
| In office 26 October 2006 – 1 February 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Vajubhai Vala |
| Succeeded by | R. C. Faldu |
| Minister of Agriculture Government of Gujarat | |
| In office 7 October 2001 – 21 December 2002 | |
| Chief Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister of Irrigation & Water Supply Government of Gujarat | |
| In office 19 March 1995 – 19 September 1996 | |
| Chief Minister | Keshubhai Patel Suresh Mehta |
| Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 1991–2002 | |
| Preceded by | Dileepbhai Sanghani |
| Succeeded by | Paresh Dhanani |
| Constituency | Amreli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 October 1954 Amreli, Bombay State, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Savitaben Rupala (m. 1979) |
| Children | One daughter and one son |
| Alma mater | B. Sc. (Saurashtra University) B. Ed. (Gujarat University) |
| Occupation | Politician, Agriculturist |
| Website | www |
| Source: [1] | |
Early life edit
Rupala was born to Hariben Khodabhai and Khodabhai Madhabhai, on 1 October 1954.[3] Rupala earned his B.Sc. and B.Ed. He studied at Saurashtra University and Gujarat University in 1976–1977.
Before entering politics, he served as School Principal at Hamapur in Medium School from 1977 to 1983.[4] He was the chief officer of the Amreli municipality from November 1983 to March 1987.
Career edit
Rupala was the president of the Amreli district Bhartiya Janta Party from 1988 to 1991. This led to his service as Secretary of the Bhartiya Janta Party in 1992.
He was Chairman of a youth hostel from February 2002 to 2004. He served as trustee of Kadva Patidar trust, in Amreli, Chairman of Madad Trust and President of the Gujarat electricity board union.
He served 3 consecutive terms as a member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly ending in 2002.[5]
He was a Cabinet Minister in Narmada for Irrigation and Water Supply from 19 March 1995 to 20 October 1995 and again from 4 November 1995 to 18 September 1996; for Agriculture from 9 October 2001 to 21 December 2002. He chaired the Public Accounts Committee of Gujarat Legislative Assembly from March 1997 to December 1997.
He was the Chairman of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (G.I.D.C.) from June 1998 to October 2001.
He was elected a Rajya Sabha Member (2008-2009) where he served on the Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Member (Aug. 2009 - Aug. 2010), on the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Member ( July 2010 -), on the Committee for the Ministry of Shipping Member (Sept. 2010 -) and on the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers Member, Committee on Agriculture (Aug. 2012 -).
He was again elected to Rajya Sabha in June 2016 in by-poll following death of sitting Congress MP Praveen Rashtrapal.[6] From May 2019 to July 2021, he served as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.[7] In July 2021, he became Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.[8]
Controversies edit
During the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Parshottam Rupala, stirred controversy due to his remarks about the Kshatriya and Rajput communities during a campaign rally. His comments, which criticized the actions of erstwhile 'maharajas' for allegedly capitulating to foreign rulers and British colonizers, sparked protests from the Rajput community.[9][10]
The Rajput community perceived Rupala's remarks as an insult, considering that the majority of the erstwhile rulers in Gujarat were from their community. Despite Rupala's public apology and request for forgiveness, community leaders continued to demand that the BJP remove him from the list of candidates, threatening to vote against the party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.[11]
Personal life edit
Rupala married Savitaben in 1979. They have a daughter and one son.
References edit
- ^ "Cabinet Reshuffle: The full list of Modi's new ministers and what they got". The Economic Times. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Alphabetical List Of Former Members Of Rajya Sabha Since 1952". Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "Detailed Profile - Shri Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala - Members of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) - Who's Who - Government: National Portal of India".
- ^ Administrator. "Parshottam Rupala's life sketch".
- ^ Administrator. "Polytical History Of Parshottam Rupala".
- ^ "BJP's Parshottam Rupala Elected To Rajya Sabha From Gujarat". NDTV.com. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers", Live Mint, 31 May 2019
- ^ "Parshottam Rupala gets Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying". India Today. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Desk, India TV News; News, India TV (20 April 2024). "BJP's Rajkot candidate Parshottam Rupala confident of victory amid protests over his remarks on Kshatriyas". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has generic name (help) - ^ "Thakurs Emerge as the Biggest Chink in Modi's Armour". The Wire. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Why the BJP is not afraid of protests by the Rajput community?". Hindustan Times. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
External links edit
- Official website
