Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur paid glowing tributes to the first Chief Minister of the state Dr. Y.S Parmar, known as the founder of Himachal Pradesh on his 113rd birth anniversary during the state level function organised at Hotel Petrhoff, here today.During his address, the Chief Minister said the state government is following the roadmap drawn by Dr. Parmar for uniform and balanced development of the entire state. He said Dr. Parmar was a visionary who not only spearheaded the struggle for independent status of the State but also laid a strong foundation for further development when the resources with the state were meagre.Jai Ram Thakur said that Dr. Parmar had a solicitous vision about the development and welfare of the farmers and the downtrodden. He always laid special emphasis on the construction of roads for speedy development of all areas and the better road connectivity is also amongst the top priorities of the present government as well.The Chief Minister said that the model shown by Dr. Parmar for all-round development of the state has been followed by all the state governments as a result of which, Himachal Pradesh today has emerged a role model for other states. He also remembered the contributions made by all the previous Chief Ministers of the state for progress of Himachal Pradesh.He said earlier this day used to be organised in a customary manner in the Library Hall of the state Vidhan Sabha, but the present government felt that keeping in view the stature and contributions of Dr. Parmar, his birth anniversary should be organised in a better manner. Thereafter, the decision was taken in consultation with the Members of the ruling and Opposition parties to organise it as a state level function.
The Chief Minister said that our younger generation needs to be made well aware about the lives and contributions of the great personalities to the society as no society can progress by forgetting its glorious past. He said that keeping in view the importance of this day, the state government would organise functions in all the government senior secondary schools and colleges of the state in future so that the students could know and learn from the life and contributions of Dr. Parmar.The Chief Minister honoured the son of the former Chief Minister Kush Parmar and his wife Satya Parmar on this occasion.He also released two books on the life of Dr. Y.S Parmar brought out by the State Vidhan Sabha and Art, Language and Culture department.Speaking on the occasion, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Dr. Rajiv Bindal said that Dr. Parmar was a visionary leader who laid stress on construction of roads, hydro power generation, vegetable production, setting up industrial units and railways expansion for transportation of goods manufactures within the state. He always believed in uniform development of all parts of the state and had great sentiments for the people.Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri extended his gratitude towards the Chief Minister for organizing state level function to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Y.S Parmar. He remembered the struggle and contribution of the former Chief Minister for creation and development of Himachal Pradesh and said that the people of the state would always remain indebted to him.Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that Dr. Parmar always believed in equitable development of all parts of the state and had great regard for all members of the Assembly. He said it is the vision of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to organise this function as state level in honour of Dr. Parmar, keeping in view his remarkable contributions to the state.A documentary prepared by the Information and Public Relations department on the life of Dr. Parmar was also screened on the occasion.Chief Secretary B.K Agarwal proposed the vote of thanks.Earlier, the Chief Minister paid floral tributes to Dr. Parmar at his statue of on the Ridge and later in the function held at the Vidhan Sabha.Minister’s Sarween Chaudhary, Vipin Parmar, Vikram Singh, Govind Singh Thakur and Dr. Rajiv Saizal, Chief Whip Narendrer Bragta, Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board Ramesh Dhawla, State BJP President Satpal Singh Satti, Vice Chairman, HIMFED Ganesh Dutt, Mayor Kusum Sadrate, MLAs, Councillors and citizens of the town were present on the occasion in a large number.