Dehradun: Senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Kedar Singh Phonia passed away in Uttarakhand today. He had been ill for a long time. Kedar Singh Phonia was active in Uttarakhand politics for more than two decades. He was a cabinet minister in Uttarakhand as well as in UP. He also played an important role in the Uttarakhand state-building movement.
There is a wave of mourning in the state BJP due to the news of his death. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami condoled his death. Posting on Twitter, he wrote- ''The news of the demise of senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Shri Kedar Singh Phonia Ji is extremely sad. May God grant the departed soul a place at his feet and strength for the bereaved family to bear this immense pain.''
At the same time, Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan also expressed deep grief over his death. He said that the contribution of Kedar Singh Phonia ji in the development of the party organization and the state will always be unforgettable. He will always be remembered as a dedicated mass leader. Late Kedar Singh Phonia had placed Auli on the world map while being the tourism minister in UP. Joshimath-Auli ropeway is also his gift. The credit for providing roads to the remote villages of Badrinath assembly also goes to him. He was a resident of Gamshali village in the China border area of Chamoli district. For the first time in 1969, Phonia contested the assembly elections as an independent but was defeated. Then contested the assembly elections in 1991 and was the tourism minister in Kalyan Singh's government in Uttar Pradesh.
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