Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Friday began with obituary notes to CDS Gen Bipin Singh Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and others who were killed in chopper crash in Coonoor in Tamilnadu.

The assembly also paid tributes to former members of HP assembly GS Bali, Bodh Raj and Shiv Kumar who passed away recently.

Paying tribute to Gen Rawat, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he along with his wife and 11 others were killed in a tragic helicopter crash in Tamilnadu on 8 December.

“Whole nation was shocked when the news of CDS Gen Rawat’s death in a helicopter crash broke. His services to the nation will be remembered by one and all. Rawat was the first defence personnel to hold the post of Chief of Defence Staff and he was given the charge for his commitment, conviction and dedication for duty and country,” he added.

Thakur stated that even enemies were afraid of Gen Rawat’s name and several successful operations were conducted during his reign as CDS.

He further stated that Gen Rawat was known for his bold decisions and he was conferred with various awards in his illustrious career of 42 years including PVSM, UYSM, USM, VSM and UN Force Commendation award.

“Gen Rawat was also associated with Himachal Pradesh as he had pursued his early studies from St Edwards School, Shimla.

In addition, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, who was a resident of Jaisinghpur in Kangra district and is survived by wife, 5-month old son and parents, had also been killed in the accident,” he said.

He prayed to God Almighty to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to their family members to bear the irreparable loss.

He also condoled the demise of former MLAs, GS Bali, Bodh Raj and Shiv Kumar and said the three belonged from Kangra district. But their demise was not only a loss to the Kangra district but to the entire state.

The Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri condoled the demise of Gen Rawat and others and said their deaths in the chopper crash in Tamilnadu were a big loss to the country.

Himachal Pradesh had always played a major role in the defence sector and in this accident too, Vivek Kumar from Kangra district had been killed.

Condoling the death of former minister G S Bali, Agnihotri said the former member of the state assembly was a taskmaster who got all work assigned to him done and his contribution to the state was immense.

He also paid tributes to former MLAs Bodh Raj and Shiv Kumar.

State minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Suresh Bhardwaj, MLAs Ram Lal Thakur, Ashish Butail, Rakesh Singha, Rajeev Bindal, Col Dhani Ram Shandil and Ravi Dhiman too paid tributes to CDS Gen Rawat and former MLAs.