FORMER PUNJAB MINISTER BHAGAT CHUNNI LAL DIES AT 94, GOVT OFFICES TO CLOSE FOR HALF DAY

ace2News/Chandigarh/Jalandhar

Former Punjab cabinet minister and veteran BJP leader Bhagat Chunni Lal, father of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Mohinder Bhagat, died at the age of 94 on Thursday morning. He breathed his last at his residence in the Basti Sheikh area of Jalandhar.

His last rites will be performed at around 5 pm at the Basti Sheikh cremation ground.

The Punjab government has announced a half-day holiday in government offices on Thursday as a mark of respect and mourning over the former minister’s demise.

Bhagat Chunni Lal had served as a Cabinet minister in the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP coalition government. Born on December 1, 1932, in Sialkot, now in Pakistan, he and his family moved to Jalandhar following the Partition. He was involved in the export of sports goods and remained a prominent political figure in Jalandhar West for several decades.

He is survived by four sons and four daughters.

Bhagat Chunni Lal began his electoral journey in 1985 when he contested the Jalandhar South Assembly seat as an independent candidate, but was unsuccessful. He later joined the BJP.

In 1997, he won the Jalandhar South seat for the first time and entered the Punjab Assembly. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 2007. Following delimitation, the constituency became Jalandhar West.

In the 2012 Punjab Assembly elections, he contested from Jalandhar West as a BJP candidate and won again.
Served as Deputy Speaker and Cabinet Minister .Bhagat Chunni Lal held several important positions during his political career. In 2011, following the resignation of Satpal Gosain, he was elected Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

From 2012 to 2017, he served as a Cabinet Minister in the Punjab government led by then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He handled portfolios including Local Government, Medical Education and Research, Labour, and Forest and Wildlife. He also served as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in the Punjab Assembly from 2012 to 2017. After a long political career, Bhagat Chunni Lal decided not to contest the 2017 Assembly elections.