Official profile of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Vice President of India Born on October 23, 1923 in a humble farmer's family in village Khachriawas in Sikar District of Rajasthan, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had personal experience of poverty and deprivation. With determination, perseverance and commitment, he could rise to become the Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for three terms. On August 19, 2002, he got elected as the Vice President of India with a handsome margin. He is known as Ajatshatru in Indian politics. By his impeccable integrity, deep commitment to the welfare of the poor and the farmers and firm belief in democratic and moral values, while he lent dignity to these offices, through several proactive and innovative developmental schemes, such as Antyodaya, Food for Work etc., he paved the way for the overall development of the poor and the downtrodden. Being impressed by Antyodaya scheme, the then President of the World Bank called Shri Shekhawat as 'Second Rockefeller', while Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan fervently wished Antyodaya to be integral to his movement for "total revolution". Shri Shekhawat is a strong votary of universal literacy, population control, land reforms, eradication of corruption, judicial and electoral reforms, especially holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies and making politics free from casteism, money and muscle power. Welcoming Shri Shekhawat in Rajya Sabha, the then Prime Minister, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee emotionally said, "You have arisen from the soil to become the sandal wood 'tilak' on the forehead." The then Leader of Opposition, Dr. Manmohan Singh said "Your public life, extending over half a century, is an epitome of wisdom, knowledge and experience".The same sentiments echoed in Rajya Sabha when Shri Shekhawat completed four years as Chairman on August 18, 2006. On that day despite his unwillingness to dispense with the Question Hour the entire House cutting across party lines rose to greet and felicitate him and paid tributes on his excellent and impartial conduct of the proceedings of the House. This was an unprecedented event in the long history of Rajya Sabha. Positions Held : 1952-1972 Member, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly; 1974-1977 Member, Rajya Sabha (Council of States); 1977-2002 Member, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly; 22nd June 1977 - 15th February 1980 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (First term); 15th July 1980 - 30thDecember 1989 Leader of the Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly; 4th March 1990 - 15th December 1992 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (Second term); 4th December 1993 - 1st December 1998 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (Third term); 8th January 1999 - 18th August 2002 Leader of the Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly; and 19th August 2002 onwards, Vice-President of India and ex-officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Accomplishments and other Special Interests : On becoming the Chief Minister of the State of Rajasthan for the first time in 1977, Shri Shekhawat launched several landmark programmes, with focus on poverty alleviation. The efforts made by the State Government under his leadership in conceiving and successfully implementing poverty alleviation programmes were recognised in India and abroad. Mr. Robert McNamara, the then President of the World Bank during his visit to Rajasthan in September 1979 was so impressed by the results achieved under the Antyodaya Scheme (one of the most acclaimed poverty alleviation programmes with a focus on the poorest of the poor) that he even described Shri Shekhawat as the 'Second Rockefeller'. The Antyodaya approach of which Shri Shekhawat was the chief architect, was eventually redesigned as Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) in the entire country. Shri Shekhawat has always had a vision to develop the State of Rajasthan as an economically prosperous, infrastructurally well-developed, socially forward looking and literate State. He laid special emphasis on improving the literacy level of the State. The issues such as education and upbringing of girl child, protection and promotion of the interests of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs), the minorities, the backward communities and the physically challenged engaged his undivided attention. Empowerment of the poor and the deprived remained his cherished goal in life. Population explosion and its debilitating impact on the development disturbed him the most. He educated the people about the dangers posed by the growth of population and espoused the cause of adopting small family norms. During his tenure as Chief Minister, legislations was enacted prohibiting persons having more than two children from contesting elections to the grassroots democratic institutions and Cooperative Societies. For ensuring the economic well being of the people, Shri Shekhawat announced new investment friendly policies for accelerated development of industries, mines, roads and tourism. He conceptualised and executed the innovative idea of Heritage Hotels and Rural Tourism, which gave a remarkable boost to the tourism in the state of Rajasthan. During his tenure, accelerated economic growth in the State was noticed. Favourite Pastimes and Recreation : Reading, interacting with people and extensively touring the State and other parts of the country. Countries Visited : Visited a large number of countries i.e., United States of America, United Kingdom., Israel, Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, China, Seychelles, Myanmar, South Africa, Vatican City, Romania, Belarus, Armenia, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago. Other Information : Shri Shekhawat belongs to a farmer's family and experienced the woes, trials and tribulations of a small farmer. For him, it was a matter of conviction to ensure that the land must belong to the tillers of the land. He whole-heartedly supported all agrarian reform movements and pressed for early and effective land reforms. Shri Shekhawat joined Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1952 and was member of all the eleven Legislative Assemblies except the fifth Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. He was imprisoned for 19 months during the National Emergency for upholding democratic values and constitutional proprieties. Shri Shekhawat is a powerful orator. He promoted the culture of meritocracy in the bureaucratic placements. He has also enjoyed a relationship of mutual trust and camaraderie with the press. His personal relationships have always transcended party barriers and he has been a strong votary of broad political consensus on the key socio-economic issues facing across the nation. Shri Shekhawat steered successfully the three coalition governments headed by him in the State of Rajasthan. He has been highly sensitive to security issues, especially cross border infiltration, smuggling of weapons and narcoterrorism and has always highlighted them, well before these have become formally recognised as formidable issues facing nations. As the Vice-President of the Republic and the Chairman of the Council of States, Shri Shekhawat is keen to evolve political consensus to address the core concerns facing the nation. In his brief stint, he has earned wide acclaim for his leadership and sagacity in conducting the business of the Council of States with a sense of purpose and vision. Achievements as Vice-President and Ex-Officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha: In his long, eventful and transparent political career, making friends and not foes has been Shri Shekhawat's creed. His personal relationships have always transcended party barriers which was evidently manifested in his election as Vice-President of India in the year 2002. Ability to take along diverse segments and his emphasis on political consensus has been his greatest strength, which often helps him resolve delicate issues in the House, and outside it. In his first speech as Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Shekhawat urged the Hon'ble members to have serious discussion on issues such as national security, poverty, unemployment, population control, problems of the farmers and the labour, issues of planning, development and growth, issue of corruption in public life and other issues impacting the public governance, in the national interest so that a shared approach of action can be evolved. During his tenure so far, on several important issues such as Public Distribution System, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Central Bureau of Investigation, Judicial reforms, the state of State's Finances, the incidents of suicides by farmers, malnutrition and starvation deaths of children, and several other issues, serious and meaningful discussions have taken place in Rajya Sabha. To Shri Shekhawat, Parliamentary Institutions are the temples of democracy; they are the moral fulcrum of our country. It is his endeavour that Rajya Sabha, as an ideal institution, becomes a role model for State Legislatures, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other local bodies. Shri Shekhawat is a strong votary of autonomy of the States. That's why, Shri Shekhawat is firm believer, that no discussion should be held on matters falling within the jurisdiction of the States. Shri Shekhawat, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the Question Hour, has taken a number of steps due to which, on several occasions, all the 20 starred questions could be replied. He encourages the women members as also the backbenchers to put supplementary to questions and also to take interest in the proceedings. Shri Shekhawat has always upheld the values of ethics in public life. It has been his endeavor that all members of parliament in their public life should follow transparency and ethics. Shri Shekhawat is a reformist at his heart. It is his perception that fundamental reforms should be carried out in our electoral process so that simultaneous elections to both Lok-Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies can be held. In various parts of the country, Shri Shekhawat, in all forums of his public life, has been highlighting the trials and tribulations of the poor and the deprived, the concerns of the rural India, the strength of India's democracy, the worth of India's vast human resources, the buoyancy of India's economy, the vibrancy of our ancient culture, the sustainability of our environment and so on. The national concerns such as illiteracy, poverty, poor health, population growth, the menace of corruption etc. always engaged his undivided attention. As Chief Minister of Rajasthan, he had initiated the innovative poverty alleviation programme of 'Antyodaya' in 1977. From his basic idea of Antyodaya, he has developed a revolutionary thesis that the poorest of the poor must constitute the 'fifth pillar' of our democracy and it is they who should have the first charge on the fruits of development and the resources as well. A man like Shri Shekhawat, who has deeply felt the pangs of poverty and is fully committed to ameliorate the conditions of the poorest of the poor can only nurture such noble vision with deep sensitivity to the cause of the poor. Highly impressed by his exemplary conduct and sterling qualities of his personality, the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidya Peeth, Varanasi, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur have honoured Shri Shekhawat with Honarary Degrees of Doctor of Literature and the Asiatic Society of Mumbai has honoured him with the Honorary Fellowship. He was also honoured with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine with a Gold Medal by the Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia during his official visit. As a Chairman of the Committee on Birth Centenary Celebrations of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narain (J.P.), Shri Shekhawat has inaugurated a number of projects in several places associated with J.P. in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi to sustain the legacy of Jayaprakash Narain. As the Vice-President of India, by visiting Seychelles, Myanmar, South Africa, Vatican City, Romania, Belarus, Armenia, United Arab Emirates, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, Shri Shekhawat has contributed significantly towards strengthening our mutual cooperation with these countries. Welcoming Shri Shekhawat as the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 20 November, 2002, the then Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee while emotionally referring to the golden voyage of completing half a century of public life of Shri Shekhawat, said, "you have arisen from the soil to become the sandal wood "tilak on the forehead". The then Leader of Opposition, Dr. Manmohan Singh, accorded him a hearty welcome by saying "Your public life extending over half a century, is an epitome of wisdom, knowledge and experience, which we are very proud to say, will be a very important asset for us as we deliberate in this august House". On the conclusion of the 201st session of Rajya Sabha on 10th June, 2004, the then Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Gulam Nabi Azad, praised Shri Shekhawat for his dynamic Chairmanship by saying "Hon'ble Chairman, I am grateful to you for providing us the leadership in the House in the last few years, whether we were in Opposition or in this Government, all have trust and confidence in you". On the occasion of the felicitation of the newly elected Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, while appreciating Shri Shekhawat's role as Chairman said, "You have been steering the proceedings of this House with great wisdom, patience and equanimity". These remarks of the Prime Minister echo the same sentiment of respect and confidence in Shri Shekhawat's stewardship which he had expressed earlier as the Leader of the Opposition while felicitating him on becoming Chairman. Paying his gratitude to Shri Shekhawat, Shri K. Rahman Khan on being elected as the Deputy Chairman said "It is my good fortune to work under your guidance. I will be benefited by your long and rich parliamentary experience". The same sentiments echoed in Rajya Sabha when Shri Shekhawat completed four years as Chairman on August 18, 2006. On that day despite his unwillingness to dispense with the Question Hour the entire House cutting across party lines rose to greet and felicitate him and paid tributes on his excellent and impartial conduct of the proceedings of the House. This was an unprecedented event in the long history of Rajya Sabha. He completed his term and remained Vice - President of India until August 2007.