Here we wish a very happy birthday to Hon. Vilasraoji Deshmukh.

A brief about the man:
Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh was born on May 26, 1945 in Babhalgaon in the Latur district. He graduated with a degree in Science ( B.Sc. ) and Arts ( B.A. ) from M.E.S Abasaheb Garware College, ( Pune University ) and went on to study law ( L.L.B. ) from the ILS Law College(Pune University). He started social activities in his early youth with particular interest in drought relief work. He was elected as the Director of the Osmanabad district Central Cooperative Bank and also of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank in 1979.

Deshmukh entered active politics and became member of the Babhalgaon Village Panchayat from 1974 to 1979 and its Sarpanch (village chief) from 1974 to 1976. He was a member of Osmanabad Zilla Parishad and Deputy Chairman of Latur Taluka Panchayat Samiti (Latur District Panchayat Committee) from 1974 to 1980.

As a President of Osmanabad District Youth Congress from 1975 to 1978, he worked for the implementation of Five Point Programme of the Youth Congress. He organised the youth in Osmanabad district and became President of District wing of the Indian National Congress .

He was Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 1980 to 1995 winning 1980, 1985 and 1990 elections. During this period, as the Minister of State and the Cabinet Minister, Deshmukh handled departments such as Home, General Administration, Cooperation, Public Works, Transport, Legislative Affairs, Tourism, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development Fisheries, Industry, Rural Development, Education, Technical Education, Sports and Youth Welfare,

He has been a minister in various governments in Maharashtra from 1982 to 1995 holding portfolios of revenue, cooperation, agriculture, home, industries and education.

He lost the elections in 1995 with a margin of 35,000. He was re-elected to the State Legislature from Latur Constituency in the elections held in September 1999 with a strong comeback winning with a margin of nearly 91,000 in two successive election, the highest in Maharashtra. He took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on October 18, 1999. He was Chief Minister till 17 January 2003, but had to step down in January 2003 and make way for Sushilkumar Shinde , a prominent Dalit member of Congress, following factionalism in the state unit of the party.

He was re-elected to the State Legislative Assembly from Latur Constituency in the Elections held in October 2004.

He took oath of Chief Ministership for the second time on November 1, 2004. In the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks , he was forced to resign due to inept handling of the crisis.

He also drew criticism for taking his son Ritesh and a film director on tour of Taj Hotel on 2 December 2008.

He subsequently entered the Rajya Sabha and was appointed to the Council of Ministers as Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 28 May 2009.

He was appointed as Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises on 19 January 2011 cabinet reshuffle. Later on he was appointed Minister of Rural Development.

Under “Safe Latur” scheme as suggested by Hon. Mr. Vilasraoji Deshmukh, Latur will soon have Close Circuit Cameras installed at various busy places to notice the suspicious movements and to regulate the traffic in Latur city.
The camera will be installed at busy places like Shivaji Chowk, Gandhi Chowk, Subhash Chowk, GanjGolai, Flyover etc. The camera will be rotatable in 360 degrees and can zoom upto 400 to 500 mtrs.
In case of emergency, the recording done by the camera can be accessed worldwide through internet.
Detail news can be seen in Hello Latur supplement of Lokmat dates 17/05/2010 or can be read online at this lihk.

The recent list of New cabinet ministers in the Central government has one name which will make every Laturkar happy and Proud. The name in Vilasrao Deshmukh.
The former Chief Minister will be inducted into the Union Cabinet tomorrow (May 28) when the Union Council of Ministers will be expanded to take in 59 more ministers.

One of the longest serving Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh’s debut in the Union Cabinet marks his move from state to national politics.

64-year-old Deshmukh’s journey in politics began as a village sarpanch in Latur district and the Marathi leader steadily rose in the ranks to assume the top post in the state twice.

He had been a minister in various governments in Maharashtra from 1982 to 1995 holding the portfolios of revenue, cooperation, agriculture, home, industries and education which is testimony to his extensive experience in the legislature and administration.

Deshmukh became chief minister in 1999 but had to step down in January 2003 and make way for Sushilkumar Shinde, a prominent Dalit face of Congress, following factionalism in the state unit of the party.

In 2004 Assembly elections, he again became chief minister, a post which he had to vacate in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack.

We congratulate every Laturkar for the success and wish that the progress of Latur will continue in same magnificient pace.