Prem Prakash Pandey (born 8 March 1958) is an Indian politician who served as the 2nd Speaker of the

Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly or the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral state legislature of Chhattisgarh state in India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Raipur, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 90 Mem ...

. He is a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and was

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

Raman Singh Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2023. Formerly, he served as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and holding the position for thre ...

's government. He is one of the architects of Chhattisgarh, which was formed in 2000 after the bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh. As a compliment to his efficiency and grasp on the political aspect, he was chosen for the distinguished post of Speaker of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

. He was also a minister in Government of unpartitioned Madhya Pradesh.

Early life

Prem Prakash Pandey was born on March 8, 1958, in Bhurwar, Thana-Bankata, District Deoria,

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 ...

. Mr. Pandey hails from a typical Indian middle-class family. His father was a serviceman at the

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

and his mother was a homemaker. He was 11 years younger than the Independent India but was more worried and affected by the growth and political development in India. The gory emergence of Naxalites in the country and in his state had an indelible impact on him. Many other local and national occurrences affected him subconsciously and chiselled him, in later years, to actively contribute to nation-building.

Political life

Prem Prakash Pandey began his political career in 1976, when he was pursuing education. One major political crisis that triggered his zeal to serve the nation is when India was reeling under the attack on democracy in the garb of emergency in 1975. He was imbued, especially by Atalji, during this phase. His first step into politics was when he decided to join the Akhil Bharthi Vidhyarthi Parishad. He took this decision when he was only in Class 11. This very well exemplifies his deep conviction and commitment towards serving the public and solving their maladies. In 1976, he officially entered politics at

Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University is an institution of higher education located in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. It is one of the largest and oldest and top most institutions of higher education in Chhattisgarh . It is Accrediation of B++ by NA ...

. He gradually moved up the ladder with his grit and determination. In 1990, he won the first election and was entrusted with the charge of Minister of Education, Skill Development, and Technical Education in undivided Madhya Pradesh. In 1993, he became an Elected member of the Legislative Assembly, and later in 1995, he was elected as an executive member of the BJP Yuva Morcha. A commendable milestone that he earned was being elected as the Speaker of the

Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly or the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral state legislature of Chhattisgarh state in India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Raipur, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 90 Memb ...

on December 22, 2003.

Initiatives

He is leaving no stone unturned in unleashing progress and development in Bhilai. His activities are receiving support from the people. He wants the youth to be empowered, practice positive developmental politics, and be a conduit of change. His campaigns, such as #BaatBhilaiki, were met with fervour by the locals of Bhilai. He is the only minister in Chhattisgarh to initiate Facebook Live, where people beforehand send their queries, and their complaints are solved in the aftermath. He has exemplified his visionary attribute through his effort to solve the water woes of his constituency and earned the sobriquet "Paaniwala Baba.". He gave a new identity to Bhilai as he got the IIT (the prestigious

Indian Institute of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Instit ...

) campus in Bhilai. It was the fruit of his persistent effort that Bhilai has become an educational hub. Akin to this, he is contemplating many other strategies to make Bhilai a smart city as well as a city that achieves

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of th ...

"Swacchata Utsav"

He also gave vigour to the "

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India on 2 October 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management and to create Open Defec ...

" campaign in Bhilai to inculcate behavioural change and to keep the environment clean. Prem Prakash Pandey being the MLA of

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...

constituency has started (on 28 August 2016) an initiative named "Swacchhata Utsav" under which he visits a part of the constituency every Sunday in the morning with a group of followers and volunteers, where Prem Prakash Pandey and volunteers clean the streets (though symbolically) to spread the message of cleanliness. The idea is to spread the word of "

" started by nation's prime minister Shri

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

. It has now become a big 34 weeks long campaign which contributed significantly in improving Bhilai's cleanliness index.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandey, Prem Prakash People from Bhilai State cabinet ministers of Chhattisgarh Living people 1958 births Speakers of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh MLAs 2003–2008 Chhattisgarh MLAs 2013–2018 Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University alumni