Information and broadcasting minister - Anand Sharma
Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh have welcomed the induction of Anand Sharma, who earlier was a minister of state for external affairs and also held independent charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, into the union cabinet.
Sharma, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, belongs to Himachal Pradesh.
“It (Sharma’s induction into the cabinet) is great step… we are thankful to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for giving due representation to the tiny hill state,” Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Vidya Stokes told IANS on phone. She was in New Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet ministers.
“This time too, this young, energetic leader will also take up issues related to the state at the national level,” she added.
State Congress committee president Kaul Singh Thakur said: “Of course, loyalty, performance and experience were the criteria while finalising the names for the cabinet berth. We are happy with the decision (of the party).”
Anand Sharma, who was born in Shimla Jan 5, 1953, was first elected to Parliament for the first time in 1984 at the age of 31.
The 56-year-old veteran Congress leader hailing from Himachal Pradesh has risen to the occasion whenever the party required him.
Sharma was part of Congress' 'War Room', which had been set up to spearhead the party's election campaign.
It was his idea of using the 'Jai Ho' song from Oscar winning movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' during campaigning to strike a chord with the masses. It apparently served the purpose, even though rival BJP tried to counter it with 'Bhay Ho' slogan.
A well-known face of the Congress and a good orator, he has been the party spokesman for several years when the party was in the Opposition and some time after the Congress came to power in 2004.
He was made minister of state for external affairs in the outgoing government in 2006. After P R Dasmunsi fell critically ill last year and was indisposed indefinitely, Sharma was given additional charge of minister of state for information and broadcasting
A lawyer by profession, Sharma is a member of Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh. He has been the member of the Upper House on four earlier occasions also.
He has also been member of the Defence as well as Business Advisory Committees.
A prominent leader of the student and youth movement in the country, he was one of the founders of Congress' students wing NSUI.
Sharma first came to limelight during the Rajiv Gandhi days as chief of the Indian Youth Congress, which was a period when the youth body was proactive on the issue of Apartheid in South Africa, which is now a thing of the past. Incidentally his wife Zenobia, is from South Africa.
He has considerable experience in representing Congress and India at diplomatic interactions at all levels as he has either led or been a member of delegations to over 50 countries.
Sharma has also been a key organiser of several major international conferences, including the First Non-Aligned Youth Conference in 1985 in New Delhi which was attended by delegates from 82 countries.
He has also represented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a special envoy to several countries on various sensitive assignments, including the civil nuclear deal last year.
In the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Sharma was Minister of State for External Affairs and also held independent charge of the information and broadcasting ministry after Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was hospitalised following a stroke.
Sharma was also instrumental in organising the centenary celebrations for Satyagraha movement here two years back, which was attended by delegates from 91 countries.