The Hindu : National : Sahib Singh Verma’s body brought to Delhi

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Sunday, Jul 01, 2007
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Sahib Singh Verma’s body brought to Delhi

A former teacher, he commanded respect among the teaching fraternity

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh pay floral homage to the former Delhi Chief Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, in New Delhi on Saturday. — Photo By: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI: The body of the former Union Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, was brought here on Saturday evening and taken to his 5 Tughlak Lane residence for the leaders and masses to pay their last respects. Mr. Verma was killed in a road accident earlier in the day in Rajasthan’s Alwar district

The body will be shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party national headquarters on Ashoka Road at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The last rites will be performed at Azad Hind Gram at 4 p.m.

The body was brought to Delhi via road. Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje accompanied the body.

Later in the evening, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also visited his residence. Mr. Verma is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.

Born on March 15, 1943, in Mundka village of Delhi, Mr. Verma rose from the ranks of a Metropolitan Councillor in 1977 to become the Union Labour Minister in 2002.

A former teacher, he commanded respect among the teaching fraternity and even worked as librarian at the Delhi University’s Bhagat Singh College. In 1996, he became the Chief Minister of Delhi replacing his colleague and rival Madan Lal Khurana. He was replaced by Sushma Swaraj, but the party lost the elections. After making way for Ms. Swaraj, Mr. Verma rejoined as college librarian. Sixty-four-year-old Mr. Verma was Union Labour Minister from 2002 to 2004 in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Government.

In the 2004 elections, he contested the Outer Delhi Lok Sabha seat and lost to Sajjan Kumar of the Congress. Mr. Verma began his political career as a RSS pracharak and was made the Delhi Education and Development Minister in 1993. He had a doctorate in library sciences.

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