Former HP Assy speaker Tulsi Ram passes away 

Himachal Pradesh Assembly former speaker Tulsi Ram passed away after brief illness on Monday night . He was 76yrs old and survived by his wife and a son. He was undergoing treatment for a kidney-related ailment at a private hospital in Kangra.

 He was elected as MLA from Bharmaur on ticket of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1990, 1998 and 2007. He was unanimously elected to the office of Speaker on 11 January 2008. Ram, who worked as a clerk, unsuccessfully contested his first election as an independent candidate in 1982. He again contested the elections on a BJP ticket in 1985 but lost. The party denied him the ticket in the 2012 assembly elections and replaced him with Jia Lal. He left the BJP in 2015.

Known for his simplicity, Ram was settled in Palampur. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed grief over the death of the former speaker.  “May God give the departed soul peace and the bereaved family the strength to bear this grief,” Thakur tweeted.

Rajya Sabha Member Indu Goswami also condoled the death of the former speaker. The cremation will take place at his native village in Bharmour.