Kavinder Gupta
Gupta after being elected as the Deputy CM
Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
In office
30 April 2018 – 19 June 2018
GovernorNarinder Nath Vohra
Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti
Preceded byNirmal Kumar Singh
Succeeded byPresident's rule
Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
In office
18 March 2015 – 29 April 2018
GovernorNarinder Nath Vohra
Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti
Preceded byMubarak Gul
Succeeded byNirmal Kumar Singh
Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
In office
23 December 2014 – 2018
GovernorNarinder Nath Vohra
Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti
Preceded byRaman Bhalla
Succeeded byVacant
ConstituencyGandhinagar
Mayor of Jammu
In office
2005–2010
Personal details
Born (1959-12-02) 2 December 1959
Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
OccupationPolitician

Kavinder Gupta (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian politician from the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He is the last Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state.

Personal life

Kavinder Gupta was born on 2 December 1959. He has three children – two daughters and one son.[1]

Political career

Gupta joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the age of thirteen. He was jailed for thirteen months during The Emergency. Gupta served as the secretary of the Punjab unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad from 1978 to 1979. He also served as the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha from 1993 till 1998.[2]

Gupta was elected mayor of the city of Jammu for a record three consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2010.[1] In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, he contested as a member of Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected a Member of Legislative Assembly from the Gandhinagar constituency. He defeated Raman Bhalla of the Indian National Congress, the incumbent.[1] On 19 March 2015, Gupta was elected speaker of the assembly. He also became the first ever Bharatiya Janata Party leader to be appointed as the speaker.[3]

On 30 April 2018, Gupta was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state as a part of a cabinet reshuffle. He succeeded Nirmal Kumar Singh.[4]

On 19 June 2018, Gupta resigned from the post of Deputy Chief Minister after 51 days of taking the oath as BJP pulled out from the alliance with PDP. Ram Madhav, then BJP National General Secretary, presided over the press conference in which the announcement to end the alliance was made. He criticised the CM Mehbooba Mufti-led government, saying it had "failed in its responsibility." He added that increase in violence, threat to fundamental rights and increase in radicalisation were the main factors behind the BJP's decision to quit the J&K coalition government.[5][6]

Controversies

In February 2015, Gupta courted controversy by blaming the Rohingya Muslim refugees for the 2018 Sunjuwan attack on an army camp.[4] After being sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state, Gupta stated that the Kathua rape case was a "small incident [which] should not be given too much importance". Hindu right-wing groups had held rallies supporting the accused in the case, the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl. He faced criticism from opposition Congress party and opposition leader Omar Abdullah. Gupta later said that the media had misinterpreted his comment.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Who is Kavinder Gupta?". The Indian Express. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Kavinder Gupta, who joined RSS at age of 13, is Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister". New Indian Express. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "BJP Legislator Kavinder Gupta elected as the Speaker of the 12th Jammu & Kashmir Assembly". India Today. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet reshuffle: Kavinder Gupta, Rajiv Jasrotia and Sunil Sharma among 8 ministers sworn in". First Post. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "BJP ends alliance with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir". India Today. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "BJP ends alliance with PDP; Can't treat J&K as enemy territory, says Mehbooba after resigning". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "J&K deputy CM Kavinder Gupta calls Kathua rape a 'small incident', later clarifies". The Times of India. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
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