Daljit Singh Cheema

Some Lesser Known Facts About Daljit Singh Cheema

• Daljit Singh Cheema grew up in a Punjabi family in the village Mari Bhuchian of Gurdaspur.

• After completing his graduation, Daljit Singh did an internship at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, for around a year.

• In June 1987, he took a six-month residency in Orthopedics at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College.

• He then did a six-month house job in Ophthalmology at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College.

• He entered politics by joining the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1993.

• In 2009, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Anandpur Sahib constituency on a ticket of the Shiromani Akali Dal and lost to the Indian National Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu.

  

• From 2007 to 2012, Cheema served as the Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal.

• Cheema won the Legislative Assembly Elections from the Rupnagar Assembly Constituency in 2012. During his tenure as an MLA of Rupnagar, the region saw various developments like the first IIT of Punjab was set up in Ropar. Also, the Rupnagar Flyover was developed as a unique structure, the first of its kind in the entire state.

• In 2012, Daljit was appointed as the Education Minister of Punjab. He held the post till 2017.

• While serving as the Education Minister of Punjab, Daljit Singh suggested that the mother tongue should solely be the medium to impart education till the senior secondary level. He said,
  

  Mother tongue is the best language to impart education. It should solely be the medium to provide education till senior secondary level.”

• He has also served as the Chairman of the Sub Committee of CABE (Central Advisory Board for Education) and a Member State Literacy Mission Authority, Punjab.

• He has been serving as the Secretary-General and Spokesman to Shiromani Akali Dal for many years.