Bansi Lal Legha was an Indian independence activist, senior Congress leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana and considered by many to be the architect of modern Haryana. Bansi Lal was part of the famous Lal trio of Haryana which also included 'Tau' Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal, that form the major Political families of Haryana. Lal was elected to the Haryana State Assembly seven times, the first time in 1967. He served three separate terms as Chief Minister of Haryana: 1968–75, 1985–87, and 1996–99. Bansi Lal was considered a close confidante of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency era of 1975 -1977. He served as the Defence Minister from December 1975 to March 1977, and had a brief stint as a Minister without Portfolio in the Union government in 1975. He also held the Railways and Transport portfolios. He set up Haryana Vikas Party after parting ways with the Indian National Congress in 1996. He returned to Congress in 2004, and helped the Congress to win the 2005 Assembly elections.
Early life
He was born on 26 August 1927 to Choudhary Mohar Singh and Shrimati Vidya Devi belonging to HinduJat community in the village of Golagarh in Bhiwani district, British Punjab. Following his marriage, Lal had two sons, Surendra Singh, and Ranbir Singh Mahendra.
Education
Bansi Lal did his bachelors in arts earning a BA degree, followed by LLB for which he studied at the Punjab University Law College, Jalandhar.
Political career
Lal was secretary of Parja mandal in the Loharu State, from 1943 to 1944.
Lal was president of the Bar Association, Bhiwani from 1957 to 1958. He was president of the District Congress Committee, Hisar, from 1959 to 1962 and later became a member of the Congress Working Committee and Congress Parliamentary Board.
He was a Rajya Sabha member from 1960 to 1966 and 1976 to 1980. He was a Lok Sabha member—1980 to 1984, 1985 to 1986 and 1989 to 1991.
After he parted company with Congress in 1996, Bansi Lal set up the Haryana Vikas Party and his campaign against prohibition propelled him to power in the assembly polls the same year.
Chief Minister of Haryana
Bansi Lal became the Chief Minister of Haryana four times in 1968, 1972, 1986 and 1996. He was the third chief minister of Haryana after Bhagwat Dayal Sharma and Rao Birender Singh. He became Haryana chief minister for the first time on 31 May 1968 and remained in office till 13 March 1972. On 14 March 1972, he occupied the top post in the state for the second time and was in office till 29 November 1975. The third and fourth times he was appointed chief minister was from 5 June 1986 to 19 June 1987 and 11 May 1996 to 23 July 1999. Bansi Lal was elected to the state assembly seven times, the first time being in 1967. After Haryana was formed in 1966, much of the state's industrial and agricultural development, especially creation of infrastructure, took place due to Lal's initiatives. He was elected to the state assembly for seven times in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1986, 1991 and 2000. He was responsible for electrifying all villages in Haryana during his tenure as chief minister in the late sixties and seventies. He was also the pioneer of highway tourism in the state – a model later adopted by a number of states. He is regarded by many as an "Iron man" who was always close to reality and took keen interest in the upliftment of the community. Lal became one of the first Chief Ministers to visit Israel, when he led a delegation of agriculturalists and sarpanches to the country in 1971. Bansi Lal also brought the Maruti Car project to Haryana, as he provided over 300 acres of land for Maruti factory, which was Sanjay Gandhi's dream cheap car project, though there was some controversy also as the land deal involved around 15,000 farmers, who were evicted to free the land. Bansi Lal did not contest the assembly elections in 2005 but his sons Surender Singh and Ranbir Singh Mahendra were elected to the state assembly. Surender Singh died in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on 31 March 2005.
Role during Emergency
Lal was in the limelight when Emergency was imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. He was a confidante of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during the controversial Emergency days in 1975. He was part of a cabal around Sanjay Gandhi, along with V C Shukla, Om Mehta, et al., which came to be known as 'the Emergency caucus'. This group, led by Sanjay Gandhi, was said to be responsible for various harsh steps during the Emergency. He was the defence minister from 21 December 1975 to 24 March 1977 and a minister without portfolio in the Union government from 1 December 1975 to 20 December 1975. The Shah Commission of Inquiry which was formed at end of the Emergency noted that Lal often misused his official position for personal reasons.
Death
Lal died in New Delhi on 28 March 2006 at the age of 79. He had been unwell for quite some time.
Lal's grand daughter, Mrs. Shruti Choudhry, was a Member of the Parliament from Bhiwani constituency. She lost the 2014 general elections from same constituency.
