A function commemorating the 15th Death Anniversary of Sher-e-Duggar Sh. Lala Shiv Charan Gupta, Former BJP MLA was organized at Nand Palace Udhampur by Lala Shiv Charan Gupta Yaadgaar Samiti and hosted by Sh Pawan Kumar Gupta , Ex MOS Finance and IT and Dr Jogeshwar Gupta , President Municipal Council Udhampur.
The event was attended by thousands of enthusiastic party workers and was addressed by prominent senior leaders of BJP viz: Ex-MLA Sh. Devender Singh Rana, Ex-MLA Sh. Baldev Raj Sharma, Senior BJP Leader Satish Sharma, DDC Chairman Sh. Lal Chand and BJP District President Sh. Arun Gupta, Sh. Shyam Saroop Kalsotra , several DDC members, BDC Chairpersons and several sarpanches/ panches.
Speakers recalled the yeoman services of Lala Shiv Charan Gupta rendered to the people of Udhampur and threw light on life history of Lala Shiv Charan Gupta who was one of the founding members of the Praja Parishad Party.
The efforts of Lala Shiv Charan Gupta towards the legitimate rights of the people of J&K not only lead to him being jailed twice by the Sheikh regime during Praja Parishad agitation but there was also a ‘shoot at sight’ order in place against him by the authorities.
This turbulance of this phase was evident from the fact that Lala ji had no option but to reside in hiding, away from family for months at a time. Despite all odds and by virtue of his relentless will power and courage of conviction, he was elected to the State Assembly for the first time in the year 1962 on the mandate of Praja Parishad.
He was also elected MLA in 1967 and 1977 on the mandate of Jana Sangha and as an Independent respectively. Subsequently, in the year, 1996, Lala Shiv Charan won on the mandate of BJP and was leader of Opposition in the State assembly.
While addressing the gathering, Pawan Gupta, who is also the son of Lala Shiv Charan Gupta, recalled fond memories of his father who was elected to the State Assembly four times and worked in various capacities in social and political circles.
Several speakers spoke about the vision and tireless dedication of Lala Shiv Charan Gupta for the prosperity of the people of Jammu and Udhampur in particular and his generous and benevolent services to the public and down trodden became a source of inspiration for the generations to come.
They recalled that his "His physical form may have departed our world 15 years ago but his eternal light shines on us through the heavens guiding us through the more challenging paths of life.