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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday mourned the demise of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra and extended his condolences to the bereaved family.
Birla highlighted VK Malhotra's contribution to Indian politics and called his demise a "profound loss" to the Indian socio-political sphere. In a post on social media platform X, the Lok Sabha Speaker wrote, "The passing of former MP and senior leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra ji is deeply saddening. He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times and to the Rajya Sabha once. His rich legislative experience, from urban bodies to the Parliament of the country, strengthened our democratic system." "The demise of Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra ji is a profound loss for the socio-political sphere. I pray to God to grant the departed soul a place at His feet and provide strength to the grieving family and supporters. Om Shanti," the social media post read. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma also expressed his grief over the demise of senior BJP leader VK Malhotra and offered his condolences to the family. "The news of the demise of the senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shri Vijay Kumar Malhotra Ji, is extremely heartbreaking. May God grant a place to the departed noble soul at His holy feet and bestow strength upon the bereaved family to bear this thunderbolt," Sharma wrote on X. The BJP leader had passed away at AIIMS, New Delhi, today at the age of 93. Born on December 3, 1931, in Lahore, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan), Malhotra was the fourth of seven children of Kaviraj Khazan Chand. A politician and sports administrator, he was elected President of the Delhi Pradesh Jana Sangh (1972-75) and later twice as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi Pradesh (1977-80, 1980-84). Alongside leaders such as Kedar Nath Sahni and Madan Lal Khurana, Malhotra is credited with maintaining the BJP's strength in Delhi for decades. His most notable political victory came in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when he defeated former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by a large margin. Over his career, he served as a five-time Member of Parliament and a two-time MLA from Delhi, becoming one of the senior-most BJP figures in the capital. In the 2004 general election, Malhotra was the only BJP candidate to win a seat in Delhi. (ANI)
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