Parshottam Rupala Explained

Office:Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Term Start:7 July 2021
Term End:11 June 2024
Primeminister:Narendra Modi
Predecessor:Giriraj Singh
Successor:Lalan Singh
Office1:Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
Term Start1:5 July 2016
Term End1:7 July 2021
Primeminister1:Narendra Modi
Minister1:Radha Mohan Singh
Narendra Singh Tomar
Office2:Minister of State for Panchayati Raj
Term Start2:5 July 2016
Term End2:30 May 2019
Primeminister2:Narendra Modi
Minister2:Narendra Singh Tomar
Office3:Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Term Start3:1 June 2016
Term End3:2 April 2024
Predecessor3:Praveen Rashtrapal
Successor3:J. P. Nadda
Constituency3:Gujarat
Term Start4:10 April 2008
Term End4:9 April 2014
Constituency4:Gujarat
Office5:President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Gujarat
Term Start5:26 October 2006
Term End5:1 February 2010
Predecessor5:Vajubhai Vala
Successor5:R. C. Faldu
Office6:Minister of Agriculture
Government of Gujarat
Term Start6:7 October 2001
Term End6:21 December 2002
1Blankname6:Chief Minister
1Namedata6:Narendra Modi
Office7:Minister of Irrigation & Water Supply
Government of Gujarat
Term Start7:19 March 1995
Term End7:19 September 1996
1Blankname7:Chief Minister
1Namedata7:Keshubhai Patel
Suresh Mehta
Office8:Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly
Term Start8:1991
Term End8:2002
Constituency8:Amreli
Predecessor8:Dileepbhai Sanghani
Successor8:Paresh Dhanani
Office9:Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Term Start9:4 June 2024
Constituency9:Rajkot
Predecessor9:Mohan Kundariya
Birth Date:1 October 1954
Birth Place:Amreli, Bombay State, India
Party:Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse:Savitaben Rupala (m. 1979)
Children:One daughter and one son
Occupation:Politician, Agriculturist
Alma Mater:B. Sc. (Saurashtra University)
B. Ed. (Gujarat University)
Source:https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/member_site/Main.aspx

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 was elected to 18th Lok Sabha from Rajkot. He was 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.

Early life

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

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. In July 2021, he became Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.[7] [8]

He was elected to Loksabha from Rajkot constituency in 2024 Indian general election.

Controversies

During the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Parshottam Rupala, stirred controversy due to his remarks about the Rajput community 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] But high command didn’t changed the candidate and continued with Rupala. Despite this he was elected from Rajkot.[12]

Personal life

Rupala married Savitaben in 1979. They have a daughter and one son.

References

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cabinet Reshuffle: The full list of Modi's new ministers and what they got . . 8 July 2021 . 8 July 2021.
  2. Web site: Alphabetical List Of Former Members Of Rajya Sabha Since 1952. 1 October 2015. 14 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190214083532/http://164.100.47.5/Newmembers/alphabeticallist_all_terms.aspx. dead.
  3. Web site: Detailed Profile - Shri Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala - Members of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) - Who's Who - Government: National Portal of India.
  4. Web site: Parshottam Rupala's life sketch. Administrator.
  5. Web site: Polytical History Of Parshottam Rupala. Administrator.
  6. Web site: 3 June 2016. BJP's Parshottam Rupala Elected To Rajya Sabha From Gujarat. 12 June 2016. NDTV.com.
  7. Web site: 2021-08-07. Parshottam Rupala gets Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. 2021-07-08. India Today.
  8. News: India Today . 8 July 2021 . Parshottam Rupala gets Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying . https://web.archive.org/web/20240704062050/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/parshottam-rupala-gets-ministry-of-fisheries-animal-husbandry-and-dairying-1825257-2021-07-07 . 4 July 2024 . 4 July 2024 . en.
  9. Web site: 2024-04-20 . BJP's Rajkot candidate Parshottam Rupala confident of victory amid protests over his remarks on Kshatriyas . 2024-04-23 . www.indiatvnews.com . en.
  10. Web site: Thakurs Emerge as the Biggest Chink in Modi's Armour . 2024-04-23 . The Wire . en.
  11. Web site: 2024-04-21 . Why the BJP is not afraid of protests by the Rajput community? . 2024-04-23 . Hindustan Times . en.
  12. Web site: 2024-06-07 . Rupala won as Kshatriya stir polarised voters in favour of BJP: Rajkot Congress president . 2024-06-12 . The Indian Express . en.