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The Department of Posts has brought out a commemorative postage stamp on late Shri Madhavrao Scindia, a dynamic and foresighted leader who shined as a star in his political career spanning for 30 years. Madhavrao Scindia was one of the few parliamentarians who had to his credit of winning nine parliamentary elections. The stamp in the denomination of rupees five was released by Shri Dayanidhi Maran, Minister of Communications & Information Technology, here today, to coincide with the Sixtieth Birth Anniversary day of the great Parliamentarian. The function was attended by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, National Advisory Council, Sh Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker Lok Sabha, Dr. Shakeel Ahmad, Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology and several Cabinet Ministers.
Paying rich tributes to Shri Madhavrao Scindia, Shri Dayanidhi Maran said that with an outlook both liberal and modern Scindia’s days in public life were marked by his inner drive to contribute the country’s development and sheer hard work and efficiency. Smt. Sonia Gandhi in her address recalled notable contributions of Shri Madhavrao Scindia as a parliamentarian and Central Minister. She stated that he epitomised the best of Indian politics and nobility of our culture. Smt. Gandhi further stated that the release of postage stamp is a token of his appreciation towards his numerous achievements and contribution to Indian politics.
Madhavrao Scindia, the only son of Jiwajirao and Vijayaraje Scindia, was born on March 10, 1945. He did his higher studies in the United Kingdom, before entering the public life at the age of 25. He rose to serve in the Union Council of Ministers and held various important portfolios. As Minister of Railways, turning it to be a ‘golden era’, he introduced super fast short distance passenger trains like Shatabdi Express and also undertook great efforts to computerise rail reservations and booking. As Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism, he opened up the Indian skies for the private airlines and provided new destinations for the Indian tourists. In his brief tenure as the Minister of Human Resource Development, he outlined bold proposals to increase budget allocations for primary education and to set up the National Cultural Fund. He was deeply committed to the cause of education, more particularly the education of girls.
Madhavrao Scindia also served as the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Parliament. He excelled in all the fields where he remained and left shining examples for others to follow. He had been the Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology during 1990-91. His special area of interest, apart from education, was wildlife preservation and development of sports, cricket and golf in particular. He was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India during 1990-93. The country lost the great aspiring leader by the untimely death at the age of 56 years in a plane crash near Kanpur.
RM/AMA
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