Buta Singh | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Singh in 2012 | |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 1986–1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Preceded by | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Succeeded by | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed |
| Minister of AgricultureMinister of Rural Development | |
| In office 1984–1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Governor of Bihar | |
| In office 5 November 2004 – 29 January2006 | |
| Preceded by | Rama Jois |
| Succeeded by | Gopalkrishna Gandhi |
| ChairmanNational Commission for Scheduled Castes | |
| In office 2007–2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Suraj Bhan |
| Succeeded by | P. L. Punia |
| Minister of Parliamentary AffairsMinister of Sports | |
| In office 1982–1984 | |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| ChairmanAsian Games Special Organizing Committee | |
| In office 1981–1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| Minister of Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution | |
| In office 1995–1996 | |
| Prime Minister | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1934-03-21)21 March 1934 |
| Died | 2 January 2021(2021-01-02) (aged 86)[1] |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse | Manjit Kaur |
| Children | Arvinder Singh Lovely (son) Sarabjot Singh (son) Gurkirat Kaur (daughter) |
| Relatives | Alka Singh (daughter-in-law) Devyani Singh (daughter-in-law) Raman Pandoi (son-in-law) Jaskirat Kaur Jain (granddaughter) Aditya Jain (grandson-in-law) Kunwar Harjinder Singh (grandson) Kabir Ishar Singh (grandson) Simran Sidhu (granddaughter) Mannat Jain (great granddaughter) Meher Jain (great granddaughter) |
| Source:[1] | |
Buta Singh (21 March 1934 – 2 January 2021) was an Indian politician and a senior leader of theIndian National Congress. He was aUnion Home Minister of India,Governor of Bihar[2] and was chairman of theNational Commission for Scheduled Castes from 2007 to 2010.[3]
Buta Singh was born on 21 March 1934 inMazhabi Sikh family at Mustafapur,Jalandhar district,Punjab,British India.[4] He was educated atLyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar, from where he was awarded a B.A. (Hons), and atGuru Nanak Khalsa College inBombay, where he earned an M.A. Singh then gained a Ph.D. fromBundelkhand University. He married Manjit Kaur in 1964; the couple had three children.[5]
He worked as a journalist before entering politics. He contested his first elections as anAkali Dal member and joined theIndian National Congress in the late 1960s at the time when that party was split.
Singh was first elected to theLok Sabha in 1962, for theMoga constituency.[6] He was subsequently elected to the 4th (from Ropar in 1967), 5th, 7th, 8th (fromJalore), 10th (1991), 12th and 13th Lok Sabhas. He was involved with the Congress Party sinceJawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and he was close to former Indian prime ministersIndira Gandhi andRajiv Gandhi. But he was first elected to theIndian Parliament from the Moga constituency as Akali Dal candidate, defeating his Congress opponent.[7][8]
He switched to Ropar constituency in 1967, this time as a Congress candidate, and was elected from there to Lok Sabha a couple of times. He becameGeneral Secretary of theAll India Congress Committee (AICC)General Secretary (1978–1980),Home Minister of India and laterGovernor of Bihar (2004–2006). Other portfolios that he has held include those for railways, commerce, parliamentary affairs, sports, shipping, agriculture, communications and housing. He was chairman of theNational Commission for Scheduled Castes (ranked as Cabinet Minister) from 2007 to 2010.[9]
He wrote a bookPunjabi Speaking State – A Critical Analysis and a collection of articles on Punjabi literature and Sikh history.[10] Indira Gandhi chose him to select a new party symbol when Congress was split. He was very closely involved with her inOperation Blue Star and as a minister he oversaw reconstruction of theGolden Temple following that exercise.[11] His name was also in the finalists for the post ofPresident of India along withGiani Zail Singh in the Indira era. He was also the chairperson ofAsian Games organizing committee when the competition was held in India in 1982.[12]
He contested 2014 Lok Sabha election fromJalore (Lok Sabha constituency) as an independent, backed by Samajwadi Party, but he came third.[13]
In 1998, as Communications Minister he was indicted in the JMM bribery case, and forced to resign.[14]
As the Governor of Bihar, Singh's decision to recommend the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly in 2005 was sharply criticised by theSupreme Court of India. The court ruled that Singh had acted in haste and misled the federal cabinet because he did not want a particular party claiming to form the government, to come to power.[15][16]
Singh, however, claimed that the party was resorting to unfair means to secure support to form the government. On 26 January 2006 Singh sent a fax toAbdul Kalam offering to resign his post.[17] The next day he left office and was replaced temporarily by West Bengal governorGopalkrishna Gandhi.[18]
Singh died inNew Delhi from complications of acerebral haemorrhage on 2 January 2021, at age 86.[19][20]
| Lok Sabha | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Constituency does not exist | Member of Parliament forRopar 1967–1977 | Succeeded by Basant Singh Khalsa |
| Preceded by Basant Singh Khalsa | Member of Parliament forRopar 1980–1984 | Succeeded by Charanjit Singh |
| Preceded by Virda Ram Phulwariya | Member of Parliament forJalore 1984–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forJalore 1991–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forJalore 1998–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Parliamentary Affairs 29 January 1983 – 31 December 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 1984 – 12 May 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Home Affairs 12 May 1986 – 2 December 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ved Marwah Acting | Governor of Bihar 5 November 2004 – 29 January 2006 | Succeeded by |
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