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

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

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

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from the Ghosi constituency in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. 1989-1991-1996-1998. He was a minister in various national

Congress (I) The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement ...

governments. Rai is credited with giving

Mau Mau may refer to: Places Brazil * Maú River, an alternate name for the Ireng River Kenya * Mau Escarpment * Mau Forest India * Mau, Bhind, a town in Madhya Pradesh * Mau, Mawal, Pune district, Marahrashtra * Mau, Punjab, a village ...

the status of a district during his tenure as an MP from Ghosi.

Early life

Rai was born in a

Bhumihar Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, a Hindu Indian caste system, caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila (region), Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya ...

family and educated at

Gorakhpur University Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University (formerly known as Gorakhpur University) is located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The University of Gorakhpur is a teaching and residential-cum-affiliating University. It has entered the league of top fi ...

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, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...

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 from Uttar Pradesh 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 Independent politicians in India