Santosh Bagrodia: a seasoned Congressman

New Delhi, Apr 6 (UNI) Former businessman and industrialist, now a full time social worker, newly-inducted Union Minister of State Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Santosh Bagrodia is a diehard Congressman .

Born on December 11, 1940 in West Bengal, Bagrodia has been asociated with Congress since long. He completed his graduation in Commerce from St Xaviers College, Calcutta.

Bagrodia joined active politics in 1975 by joining the Indian National Congress.

He was first elected to Rajya Sabha in July 1986. From 1992 onwards he has been a member of AICC. He served as Joint Secretary of AICC from May 1996-97. He was again elected to Rajya Sabha in 1998 and 2004 to Rajya Sabha.

He has been a member of various committees like Committee on Industry, Committee on Energy, Committee on Public Accounts and Treasurer of Congress Parliamentary Party, Convener of Sub-Committee on Power,and has been nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairmen in Rajya Sabha.

He is holding various prestigious positions like the Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry since 2004, member of Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2004, and Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution in 2005.

He helped the party in all assembly and parliamentary elections by being observer and also by campaigning extensively.

Bagrodia was incharge of party publications The Congress and Congress Saptahik in 1989.

He is an avid social worker as he started a middle school which is now upgraded to Higher Secondary School, arranged a number of widow re-marriages, worked for the welfare of the poor, helped schools for blind, deaf and dumb, worked as a catalyst to arrange drinking water schemes in many villages by the government and private non-governmental organizations.

He also joined "Jaycees", an international youth leadership development organisation in 1970, has been the president of local chapter of "Jaycees" in 1972, vice-president of All India "Jaycees" in 1976, chairman of Technical Teachers Training Institute in 1994.

He was also the Co-chairman of Fund Raising Committee of the Congress (I) for natural disasters, Director of West Bengal Warehousing Corporation, Calcutta, and served as member of Local Railways and Telephone Committees in Jaipur for many years and on the Executive Committee of Delhi Golf Club.

UNI SP RP BD2002