User:PR-0927/Virendra Verma

Virendra Verma (Hindi: वीरेंद्र वर्मा) (September 18, 1916 - May 2, 2009) was a Jat politician and freedom fighter in the Indian political sphere. He was born in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh.

Personal life
Virendra Verma was educated in J.H. School in Shamli, then DAV/SD High School in Muzaffarnagar and after his graduation attained an L.L.B. in 1943 from Meerut College, Meerut.

Shri Verma married Shrimati Rameshwari Devi in June 1940 and together had one son and two daughters.

He had special interests in education, agriculture, and sports (including wrestling, volleyball - which he captained at one point, and field hockey). He took deep interest in the uplifting of farmers, Mazdoors, backward castes, and Harijans.

He had visited the U.S.A., Canada, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, England, the Netherlands, France, West Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt, and the U.A.E..

Political Career
Virendra Verma was previously associated with the Indian National Congress (INC) while holding the following positions and memberships: President of the District Board, Muzaffarnagar (1948-1952), member of the District Congress Committee, Muzaffarnagar (1950-1959), member of the Executive Council of U.P. Congress (1960-1967), member of the All India Congress Committee (1950-1980), and member of the Congress Working Committee (1977-1980).

In 1978 INC split, Shri Virendra Verma, Shri P.V. Narasima Rao, Shri Pranab Mukherji, Shri Kamlapati Tripathi, Shri A.P. Sharma, and Shri Buta Singh stayed with Shrimati Indira Gandhi. Protesting the arrest of Shrimati Indira Gandhi by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 1978, Shri Virendra Verma led 1200 satyagrahis], courted arrest and was lodged in the Muzaffarnagar district jail twice.

Additional positions and memberships held include: Vice President of the U.P. Sugarcane Co-operative Union Federation, (1949-1955), member of the Indian Central Sugarcane Committee & UP-Bihar Sugarcane Board (1952-1955), member of the State Transport Authority (1957-1959), chairman of the Indian Sugarcane Development Council (1967-1975), head of the U.P. Sugar Mills Nationalization Committee (1970), member of the U.P. Legislative Assembly (1952-1962, 1967, 1969-1977), chairman of the Public Undertakings Committee U.P. (1973-1975), Deputy Minister of Co-operatives in UP (1959-1960), Cabinet Minister in U.P. ministries of Irrigation, Power, Industries, Labor, Education, Technical Education and Home (1970-1971), Agriculture Minister of U.P. (1975-1977), Lok Dal party leader in the Rajya Sabha M.P. (April 1984-1988), member of Committee on Privilege in the Rajya Sabha (1984), member of the Joint Select Committees of parliament on the Lok Pal Bill (1985) and the Indian Medical Council Bill (1987), Rashtriya Lok Dal Vice President (1987-1988), Deputy Leader of the Janta Dal and National Front parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha (1988-1990), and returned upon re-election to the Rajaya Sabha (1990).

Shri Virendra Verma was appointed the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on June 14th, 1990. He took over as Governor of Himachal Pradesh on December 19th, 1990. He was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1998 to 1999.