Kuldeep Singh Pathania elected 16th Speaker of Himachal Assembly

Dharamsala : The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday unanimously appointed five-time legislator Kuldeep Singh Pathania as the 16th Speaker of the House. A day earlier, Pathania, 65, filed his nomination papers, the lone candidate, for the post in Dharamsala where the winter session of the Assembly was underway.

After getting elected, Pathania, who got elected to the assembly for the first time in 1985 at the age of 28 years, assured the members that sufficient time would be given to them to raise the issues relating to the state.

He said new conventions would be established to maintain the high decorum of the House keeping in mind the past precedents. Remembering the contribution of veteran lawmakers like Durga Chand, Sukh Ram, Sant Ram and Virbhadra Singh, all dead now, Pathania said this House has 23 first-time MLAs, the highest number so far.

“A special orientation and training will be provided to the first-time MLAs to understand the legislative working of the Assembly.” Earlier, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur congratulated Pathania for getting elected to the post.

He hoped his long-time experience as a lawmaker would help the Opposition to take up the issues relating to the public appropriately. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Pathania was the youngest legislator when he got elected for the first time in 1985.

“His legal background will be an asset for this House. He rose from the ranks in politics without any political legacy.”