Kavinder Gupta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kavinder Gupta

• Kavinder Gupta joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) when he was 13 years old.

• He was sent to jail for 13 months during the Emergency rule in India.

• From 1978 to 1979, Kavinder Gupta served as Secretary of the Punjab unit of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

• From 1993 to 1998, he served as the chief of the Jammu & Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha.

• Kavinder Gupta was elected Mayor of Jammu for three terms in a row (2005-2010), which was a record set by him.

  

• In the 2014 J&K Assembly elections, he was elected MLA from Gandhinagar, defeating his opponent Raman Bhalla of the Congress party.

• On 19 March 2015, Kavinder Gupta was appointed as the Speaker of the J&K Assembly and became the first ever BJP leader to hold that post.

  

• On 30 April 2018, he became the Deputy Chief Minister of J&K and replaced Nirmal Kumar Singh.

  

• Soon after becoming Deputy CM, he faced criticism for stating to the media that the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua was only a “small incident.” ^[4]Firstpost He said,
  

  The Kathua incident was a small thing, it shouldn’t have been given all this hype. We should ensure that incident like this should not be repeated again. We need to get the girl (the Kathua rape case victim) justice. These are some of the biggest challenges before the government today.”

• On 19 June 2018, Kavinder Gupta resigned from the Deputy Chief Minister post after 51 days, when the BJP ended its alliance with the PDP.

• Ram Madhav announced the breakup and criticised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s government for failing to control violence, protect rights, and stop radicalisation.

• On 14 July 2025, Kavinder Gupta was appointed as the 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh by President Droupadi Murmu.