Birender Singh Biography

About Chaudhary Birender Singh

Chaudhary Birender Singh is a prominent Jat leader of Haryana who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party just before the Assembly election, concluded recently. Though he was close to become a cabinet minister during Manmohan Singh’s second tenure, he was not included in the UPA-II cabinet at the last minute. He is referred as Tragedy King in the political circles because he was denied Chief Minister’s position or a berth in the Union Cabinet Ministry for a long time. However, current Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted him as Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Sanitation & Drinking Water. Chaudhary Birender Singh took over as the Minister of Steel on July 5, 2016, in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Early Life of Birender Singh

Chaudhary Birender Singh is the grandson of Chhotu Ram, a renowned peasant leader in Haryana. Ch. Bijender Singh was born on March 25, 1946, in Dumarkhan Kalan village in the Jind district of Haryana. Prior to partition, his father Ch. Neki Ram was a prominent face in Undivided Punjab and the areas that today comprise Haryana.

Ch. Birender Singh completed his graduation from Rohtak’s Government College and went on to complete his law from Chandigarh’s Panjab University. He has always been a sports enthusiast during his formative years. Singh was not only cricket captain from 1964 to 1967 but also played for Punjab University from 1969 to 1970.

He has always been a social activist. He worked hard with the rank and file for creating educational institutions for technical as well as higher education in Haryana. He has been an educationist and is the founder of Haryana’s Bangar Education Trust as well as Birender Singh College of Nursing in Jind and Uchana. From 1974 to 1977, he was Haryana Harijan Sewak Sangh’s member.

Political life of Birender Singh

Singh started his political career as a social activist. He is known as a truthful and fearless politician. That’s why many people call him 'Babbar Sher'. Some of the ideals he has always vouched for include inclusive politics, people’s participation, honesty, and definitely good governance. Some of the qualities people praise him for include his oratorical skills (he speaks from his heart), keeping in touch with the people at grassroots, and a knack to listen to people’s woes.

Ch. Birender Singh first made his foray in elections in 1972, after which he went on to become Uchana Block Samity’s Chairman. He remained in that position from 1972 to 1977. He has always been popular among the masses and due to his constant contact with the grassroots he has been successful in winning the Uchana assembly seat five times. His first term as MLA was from 1977 to 1982, followed by 1982 to 1984, 1991 to 1996, 1996 to 2000, and 2005 to 2009. During these five stints he became Cabinet Minister of Haryana thrice (from 1982 to 1984, 1991 to 1992, and 2005 to 2009).

He headed multiple committees including Government Assurances Committee and Estimates Committee. In 1984 he was elected as an MP and completed the full term in 1989. During that stint he also became member of several committees including Estimates, Defence ministry’s Consultative Committee, and Ministry of Energy’s Consultative Committee.

However, problems started to crop up within the Congress with the power tussle between him and Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Ch. Birender Singh’s straight forward attitude started to become a problem for many. As the difference between the two stalwart leaders of Congress in Haryana started to spill over in public, INC made him Rajya Sabha MP in the year 2010. He was all set to become a minister in the erstwhile UPA-II government, but for the last minute change of plans. The Congress tried to placate him by inducting him in the Congress Working Committee and by making him a permanent member. This was the time when BJP started to surface as a prominent political force in Haryana. Singh didn’t lose time to grab the opportunity and took a calculative risk by joining the BJP. After the BJP emerged triumphant in the assembly election in Haryana, Singh was duly rewarded by Narendra Modi through his recent introduction in the cabinet.

EBVD