Lehar Singh Siroya

Lehar Singh Siroya was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Council (14 June 2016) for the second time. He is a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka. A two time MLC, Lehar Singh is an entrepreneur by profession and a politician and member of the Bharatiya Janta Party. A senior party member, he has held various positions from time to time.

Lehar Singh Siroya
Member(elect) of Karnataka Legislative Council
Assumed office
14 June 2016
Preceded byAshwathanarayana, BJP
Personal details
Born (1948-07-14) 14 July 1948
Kunwariya,
Rajasthan
Political partyBJP
ChildrenDeepak Kumar, Sanjay Kumar
OccupationPolitician

In the past, Lehar Singh was suspended from the BJP for sometime for criticising L. K. Advani.[1] On 10 June 2016, he was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Council. He secured 27 first preference votes (13 of BJP MLAs which were left after electing V. Somanna so 14 first preference votes from other independent and smaller party MLAs) and won after adding second preference votes.[2][3]

Lehar Singh is a staunch follower of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and admires his policies. Lehar Singh is perceived to be close to the then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and was a crucial link between the Karnataka BJP unit and High Command.[4]

Political career

While Lehar Singh is known for taking up issues like drug menace and many others, on the other hand he is popular across the country for always being surrounded by controversies. In 2010, Singh sparked an uproar across the country when he published an advertisement in all Hindi dailies congratulating PM Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister for having won in the panchayat elections.[5] The advertisement was also interpreted as a response to Sushma Swaraj's statement during her campaign in Bihar where she mocked Narendra Modi for having a reach only in Gujarat and not the rest of the country.

In May 2013, Lehar Singh wrote an open letter[6] alleging that LK Advani, the BJP Party President had compromised on corruption in the past when it suited his interest. He accused Advani for taking a moral high ground over corruption and pushing for B.S. Yeddyurappa's removal from the BJP, which resulted in the party's loss in the Karnataka state election. Lehar Singh was suspended by the party over the issue.[7][8]

Lehar Singh has taken up the cause of drug menace in Bengaluru and Karnataka in the Karnataka Legislative Council for a long time. He first raised the issue of rising drug consumption of teens and young adults in March 2017.[9] Following this, he held meetings and also a press conference to caution the state government and urge them to take immediate action. Lehar Singh demanded that the state government take stringent action and issue capital punishment for drug offenders following the footsteps of Punjab.


Community reach out to Armed forces & Ex-servicemen

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to dedicate Diwali festival to Armed forces and celebrate with Soldiers and their families, Lehar Singh through the organisation "Samanvay" organised an event to reach out to soldiers, their families and express society's respect and love towards them. As part of this initiative, "Samanvay" invited soldiers and their family members for the ‘Deepothsav’, a musical tribute of patriotic songs, followed by lunch, in Bengaluru.

References
  1. "BJP suspends Lehar Singh Siroya for criticising Advani". The Times of India. 18 May 2013.
  2. "Karnataka MLC poll results: Congress-4, BJP-2 and JD (S) 1". www.daijiworld.com. 10 June 2016.
  3. "Congress bags four seats, BJP two, JD-S one in Council polls". Business Standard. 10 June 2016.
  4. "Away from photo ops,he is BSY's bridge with high command". The Indian Express. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  5. Vyas, Neena (28 October 2010). "Modi supporters in BJP call upon him to move to the centre". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  6. "Lahar | Independent India | Politics Of India". Scribd. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. "'Is This The Party Of Indira Or Sonia Where You Can't Question Leaders?'". Outlook. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  8. Kumar, B. s Satish (12 December 2018). "'Operation Kamala' will not help BJP provide stable govt., says Lahar Singh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  9. "Drug menace: Don't allow state to become 'Udta Karnataka', BJP tells govt". Deccan Herald. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
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