Hamirpur/Una(HP), Aug 4: Senior BJP leaders of Himachal Pradesh, Praveen Sharma passed away here on Thursday.
Hailing from Polian Purohitan village of Una district, he breathed his last at his Amb kaswa residence in Una district on Thursday morning. He was 65 years old and leaves behind his ailing wife and a son.
Sharma was first elected as MLA in 2003 and was made Excise and Taxation-cum-Youth welfare and sports minister in PK Dhumal led BJP government in the state.
He was the pioneer of ABVP movement in Kangra district during his college days and had to face imprisonment for that during the emergency. He remained in jail for eighteen months along with other senior BJP leaders of the state.
Sharma had close links with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and used to carry him on his scooter to various parts of the district during the tour when Modi was the party affairs chief of Himachal Pradesh in 1998.
HP Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur has expressed his deep sadness over the demise of Praveen Sharma. In a message, he said that the party had lost one of its strongest leaders who always fought for the right cause of the poor.
Former HP Chief Minister, PK Dhumal said that the demise of Sharma was a personal loss to him and it seemed that” I have lost my soul”. Entire state will remember Praveen Sharma till time immemorial for his working for the organization and the people.
The cremation of Praveen Sharma will take place later this afternoon at a crematorium near Amb Kaswa of the Una district on Thursday.
