Vijay Goel is a multifaceted and dynamic reformer, a vociferous grass root social worker, a product of the JP Movement who was jailed for 3 months during Emergency, along with his father & former Speaker of Delhi Assembly Sh. Charti Lal Goel.

A home grown NSS, NCC, ABVP & RSS worker, Vijay hails from a traditional family in Sonepat, Haryana. Having born and brought up in the family of freedom fighters, nationalist nature came to him naturally from his surroundings.

A creative thinker, he began his political journey from humble beginnings as an ABVP activist in 1971. An alumnus of the prestigious Sriram College of Commerce – Delhi University, Vijay had been a DUSU President in 1977-78 during which he brought up several students-related issues like exposing fake marksheet racket, fake SC/ST Certificate racket, counseling the applicants seeking admissions in DU and banning students’ ragging in colleges. He was good at Basketball, and represented Delhi University and Delhi State in Kho-Kho.

Over a course of time, he has been DUSU President, President BJYM Delhi, All India Gen. Secy.-BJYM, All India General Secretary-BJP, and President-BJP Delhi among other posts in the party. Vijay Goel had been elected thrice into the 11th, 12th and 13th Lok Sabha.

VG, also called BJP’s “Versatile General” has many achievements to his credit such as banning single digit lotteries, renovation of MCD Schools under School Sudhar Yojana, introducing green lawns at Red Fort, improvement in conditions of slum areas, running the first mobile Medical Van for under-privileged, reforms in MP-LAD Scheme, restoring Urdu Poet Ghalib’s haveli, installing computers in Urdu & Hindi schools, installing Vivekananda’s statue in DU campus, facelift of Delhi railway station, building Marghat Wale Hanuman Mandir and funding renovation of Haj Manjil.

He is still remembered for organizing the famous “Chaudhvin ka Chand” festival in Chandni Chowk to reflect the culture of the walled city. The festival witnessed over 5-lakh visitors. The entire stretch from Lal Qila to Fatehpuri Masjid was restored and decorated; the facades of all the buildings were repainted with the same color. Power transformers along the road were fenced and painted, pavements were cleared of encroachments and lamp posts were replaced. Ganga-jamna tehzeeb was encouraged and traditional dishes and art-forms of ‘Purani Dilli’ were promoted. The festival lasted only for three years till the time Goel was an MP, but he made it an example for restoration of the city.

“VG” is “Very Good”, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee affectionately, said, when he handpicked him for the position of Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Planning Commission. Subsequently, Goel was given the charge of Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Statistics & Programme implementation and Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs. As a sports minister, he played an instrumental in bringing the prestigious Common Wealth Games (CWG) to India. Later on, he was the one who blew the lid from the massive corruption taking place in organization of these games and brought the malpractices in knowledge of the public.

Vijay Goel is also a keen lover of heritage and has received the Global Excellence award and the prestigious Sur-Sadhna award for his contribution in the field of Culture, Heritage and Development. His restoration work on ‘Haveli Dharampura’ in Chandni Chowk has been recognized with the Asia Pacific UNESCO award for cultural heritage conservation. He has authored a book on Chandni Chowk with a title “The Empire City” and “Old Delhi and the Walled City”. Besides being a Table player and a Ghazal singer, Goel is also an avid photographer and his two photo-exhibitions on village life and nature were inaugurated by Vice President of India and LG of Delhi respectively.

One of the projects closest to Goel’s heart is Toy Bank, a not-for-profit initiative that he runs with the support of his daughter Vidyun. Toy Bank, as name suggests, collects and refurbishes the donated toys to eventually distribute them to under-privileged children. More than one-lakh toys from affluent schools, RWAs and individuals have been collected and distributed by the organization.

His wife Prof. Preeti Goel works in Delhi University, and son Siddhant also helps out, besides giving emotional strength. His mother Smt. Basanti Devi imbibed in him religious values, while he was being personally groomed by his father for leadership.

Goel has been honored with Honorary Doctorate from the prestigious Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar. He was elected to the prestigious Executive Council and Finance Committee of Delhi University. Additionally, he is a member of University Court (DU) and Chairman of Satyawati Co-Ed. College, besides being a member of various governing bodies of colleges such as SRCC, Moti Lal Nehru and Laxmibai college. He is also a member of Anjuman (Court), Jamia Milia, Member-AIIMS, and Member-Advisory Committee-DDA.