Kalpnath Rai (4 January 1941 – 6 August 1999) was an Indian politician. He served as a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

between 1974–80, 1980–86, and 1986–92, as well as being elected on four occasions to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

from the Ghosi constituency in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. He was a minister in various national

Congress (I) Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the New Congress or Syndicate. The letter 'R' st ...

governments. Rai is credited with giving Mau the status of a district during his days as an MP from Ghosi.

Early life

Rai was born in a

Bhumihar Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin statu ...

family and educated at

Gorakhpur University DDU Gorakhpur University (simply known as University of Gorakhpur) is located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The University of Gorakhpur is a teaching and residential-cum-affiliating University. It is about . from the downtown to the east and al ...

in Uttar Pradesh. He had MA degrees in English and Sociology, as well as a LL.B. degree. He practised as an advocate in the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...

Political career

* 1963-66 General-Secretary, Samajvadi Yuvjan Sabha, Uttar Pradesh * 1967-69 Executive Member, Samyukta Socialist Party (S.S.P.) * 1969-70 Chairman, National Central Commission, S.S.P. * 1974-76 Member, Executive Committee, Congress Parliamentary Party (Indira) .P.P.(I)* 1974-78 Member, Rajya Sabha * 1978-79 General-Secretary, C.P.P. (I) Member, All India Congress Committee (Indira) .I.C.C.(I)* June 1980- Joint-Secretary, A.I.C.C. (I) * 1980-81 General-Secretary, A.I.C.C. (I) * 1980 Member, Rajya Sabha (2nd term) * 1982-83 Union Deputy Minister, Parliamentary Affairs; and Industry * 1982-84 Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs * 1986 Member, Rajya Sabha (3rd term) * 1988-89 Union Minister of State, Power * 1989 Elected to 9th Lok Sabha * Jan. 1990- Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation * Aug. 1990 1990-91 Member, Committee on Public Undertakings Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Energy * 1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term) * 1991-92 Union Minister of State, Power and Non- Conventional Energy Sources (Independent Charge) * 1992-93 Union Minister of State, Power (Independent Charge) * 1993-94 Union Minister of State, Food (Independent Charge) * 1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (3rd term) * 1996-97 Member, Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests * 1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (4th term) * 1998-99 Member, Committee on Commerce and its Sub-Committee on Textiles Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance

Death

Rai died in Ram Manohar Hospital on 6 August 1999, aged 58, from a heart attack. He was survived by his wife, a son and five daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Kalpnath People from Mau district Indian National Congress politicians India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh 1999 deaths Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University alumni Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh 1941 births Samata Party politicians Samyukta Socialist Party politicians