Party Name : Bharatiya Janata Party
Constituency : Surat
State : Gujarat
Member Experience : Elected to Loksabha 6 time
Last Loksabha Attended : 14
Father's Name : Shri Chhabildas
Mother's Name : Smt. Kashiben
Date of birth : 07 Apr 1938
Profession : Advocate Social Worker
Positions held :
1975-80 Member, Gujarat Legislative Assembly1977-80 Chairman, Committee on Public Undertakings, Gujarat Legislative Assembly1983-84 and 1987 Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Surat1985-87 and 1993-96 President, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.), Gujarat1989 Elected to 9th Lok Sabha1990-91 Member, Rules CommitteeMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Railways1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term)1991-92 Member, Public Accounts CommitteeMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industry1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (3rd term)1996-97 Member, Estimates CommitteeMember, Committee on CommerceMember, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Broadcasting Bill1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (4th term)1998-99 Union Cabinet Minister, Textiles1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (5th term)13 Oct. 1999 - 23 May 2003 Union Cabinet Minister, Textiles24 May 2003- May 2004 Union Cabinet Minister, Rural Development2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha( 6th term)Member, Committee on CommerceMember, Committee on Public UndertakingsMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs5 August 2006-onwards Member, Committee on Commerce5 Aug. 2007 onwards Member, Committee on Commerce1 May 2008 Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
More Information :
Literary, Artistic & Scientific Accomplishments
Founder, Ex-Editor, Rana Jagat (Monthly)
Social And Cultural Activities
President, (i) All India Rana Samaj; (ii) South Gujarat Medical Education Trust; and (iii) Chief Trustee, Deendayal Smarak Trust, Surat
Special Interests
Reading, writing and sight-seeing
Favourite Pastime and Recreation
Old film songs, mushaira, classical music and ghazals
Sports and Clubs
Wrestling , weight lifting and Yoga
Countries Visited
Visited Chile and U.S.A. as a delegate of IPU; visited Kuala Lumpur as Parliamentary delegate to Commonwealth Conference; Visited Croatia and West Germany as a member of Indian Parliamentary Delegation; and visited Brazil, Egypt, France, Ghana, Ivory-Coast, Netherlands, Switzerland, U.A.E., U.K., and U.S.A. as head of the jute delegation; visited Paris, Rio, Miami, London for promotion of food grade jute products in USA and also visited London College of Fashion; visited Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok for promotion of wool products; visited Paris, New York, Atlanta, London for inaguration of International Carpet Fair, Atlanta; attended FIT, New York; visited Vienna, Barcelona, Madrid, London for Annual Congress of International Wool Textile Organisation; visited Port Louis and Clothing Technology Centre, Dubai; visited Frankfurt, Tunis, Milan, Pisa, Caracas, Paris for inaguartion of Festival of India and Food Festival, Caracas; visited Frankfurt, Hanover, Atlanta, Dallas, London for DOMOTEX 2003 Fair; inaguration of UNDP Exhibition of Indian Carpet Fair and Handicraft Gift Fair; visited Tokyo, Auckland, Rotorva, Christchurch, Wellington, Sydney and Dubai for meeting with the Forest and Trade Negotiation Minister of New Zealand, Signing of MoU between WRONZ and IICT; attended Plenary Session of UN Economic & Social Council at Geneva; visited Indonesia (Jakarta) as head of the delegation and attended CIRDAP meeting and visited Dhaka (Bangladesh) to attend Conference on Sanitation
