Senior Congress leader and former minister G.S. Bali, a well-known political stalwart from Kangra, died at AIIMS, New Delhi, late night on Friday.
He was 67 and is survived by his wife, son Raghuvir Singh Bali—who is the AICC secretary, and two daughters.
The four-time MLA from Nagrota Bagwan, Bali was a cabinet minister in the Virbhadra Singh government twice, holding portfolios of transport, tourism, food and civil supplies, besides technical education.
He had been ailing for quite some time. His son Raghubir Singh Bali broke the news of his demise on social media. The post went viral within seconds, leaving several people, including Congressmen, shocked. Bali’s death is seen as a huge loss to Congress in the politically crucial Kangra district, where he had a mass base.
The former minister was always in the forefront of the party’s fight on various issues of public importance, social justice and well-being of under-privileged sections of society across the state.
He was also an architect of the previous Congress government’s policy of granting unemployment allowance to youths, and had introduced a scheme to provide subsidised ration to all ration card holders.
He also threatened to quit the Cabinet over his row with the chief minister on the issue of granting unemployment allowance to youths—a promise made by the Congress in their 2012 poll manifesto.
Born on July 27, 1954 in Kangra, Bali was a diploma in mechanical engineering. He was elected as MLA four times in a row in 1998, 2003, 2007 and 2012, but lost the 2017 poll by a slender margin.
He was founder president of Himachal Nagrik Sudhar Sabha, and headed several social bodies.
Expressing shock over Bali’s demise, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said, “He was a leader who never shied to speak his mind, whether about the Congress or any other issue. He had close ties with top leaders of the country and state across party lines. It’s a big loss for the state, as he had a clear vision about certain developmental issues relating to the state.”
Congress legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri said after the demise of former CM Virbhadra Singh, Bali’s death is be a big blow to the party.
