Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief (3 November 1933 – 25 November 2018) was an Indian politician. He was one of the senior most

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

leaders. He was the Railways Minister of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

from 1991 until 1995.

Political career

Jaffer Sharief started his career in the Indian National Congress under

Nijalingappa Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa (10 December 1902 – 8 August 2000) was an Indian independence activist, Congress Party politician, and lawyer who served two terms as the Chief Minister of Karnataka (then Mysore State) first between 1956 and 195 ...

. After a split in the Congress, he took the side of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. In 1980 as Railways minister, he was instrumental in

gauge conversion Gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. Sleepers If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if ...

of railways in the state, where all or most of the different gauges of tracks were converted to broad gauges, and thereby saving Railways a lot of money. He was also instrumental in getting the Wheel and Axle Plant in Bangalore. In 2012, Sharief was cleared by the Supreme Court of charges relating to expenditure on a trip to London for medical treatment. Sharief had taken several ministry officials with him, which the court found was not inappropriate. Corruption charges were leveled against him during his tenure as Railway Minister.

Personal life

Jaffer Sharief lost three members of his family, with his younger son in 1999, his wife in 2008 and his elder son in 2009, three days before his election to Lok Sabha. CK Jaffer Sharief died at the age of 85 in Bengaluru on 25 November 2018.

References

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External links

Official Biographical Sketch in Lok Sabha Website

Official website
Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka 1933 births 2018 deaths Indian Muslims 20th-century births Railway Ministers of India Politicians from Bangalore India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1977–1979 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from Karnataka People from Chitradurga {{Karnataka-INC-politician-stub