Satya Pal Singh, MoS HRD, Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation
Satya Pal Singh quit Indian Police Service in early 2014, when he was Mumbai Police Commissioner to join politics and entered lok Sabha winning from Baghpat by defeating RlD Chief Ajith Singh over two lakh votes. Born in Basauli village in Meerut district on November 29, 1955, 61-year-old Satyapal Singh wanted to become a scientist before he joined the IPS in 1980 and got Maharashtra cadre. He has also been on deputation to the CBI and received a special service medal for extraordinary work in Naxalite areas of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He received the President’s Police Medal for distinguished service in 2004, the President’s Police Medal for meritorious service in 1996 and the DG’s Insignia in the same year. He also served as Commissioner of Police in Pune, Nagpur and various cities of Maharashtra.
In Parliament, Singh has been vocal about farmers’ issues, advocating the need to involve the farming community actively in drafting of the Union Budget. He has also been raising the problems faced by sugarcane farmers in western UP who are debt-ridden in the face of non repayment of their heightening dues by sugar mills. He has actively been campaigning for Government regulation of sugar prices.
Singh is also a vocal proponent of holistic health, yoga and vegetarianism. He has a keen interest in vedic studies and regularly delivers lectures on spirituality, religious extremism and corruption.
Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS (Ind. Charge) Housing and Urban Affairs
Hardeep Singh Puri has a distinguished four-decade career in diplomacy spanning the multilateral arena behind him. The 65-year-old, who took oath as a Minister of State, has served as India’s Ambassador to the UN in New York and Geneva, and with his decades of diplomatic experience, his presence in the Council would be a rarity. Puri has had an over 40-year innings in diplomacy covering the multilateral arena, including as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations both in Geneva (2002-2005) and in New York (2009-2013). He is one of the few Indians to preside over the United Nations Security Council and the only one to have chaired its Counter-terrorism Committee.
Puri, a 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, most recently served as Vice President at the International Peace Institute and as the Secretary General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism in New York. He was also India’s envoy to Brazil and the United Kingdom. An alumnus of the Hindu College in Delhi University who also taught briefly at the St Stephen’s College, he is the author of the book ‘Perilous Interventions: The Security Council & The Politics of Chaos’, published last year.
RK Singh, MoS (Ind Charge) Power, New & Renewable Energy
RK Singh was Union Home Secretary during June 2011 to June 2013. After retiring from service, he joined BJP and entered lok Sabha from Arrah in Bihar. Singh, 64, first came to limelight in 1990 when he was given the task of arresting lK Advani in Samastipur in Bihar when the BJP veteran was on his Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, by the then Chief Minister lalu Prasad Yadav. The 1975 batch IAS officer served both in Bihar and at the Centre in different capacities, including as Secretary Defence production in the UPA Government, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry, when Advani was the Home Minister, and head of Bihar Government’s departments of home, industries, public works and District Magistrate of Patna.
Singh as Home Secretary was criticised for authenticating then Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s statement that RSS was involved in terror activities. He had also criticised the process of distribution of tickets by the BJP in 2015 Bihar Assembly elections, which the party lost. A well-read man, Singh studied English literature at St. Stephens College, Delhi, and got a Bachelors Degree in law thereafter. He also went on to study at the RVB Delft University in the Netherlands. Before joining the IAS, he was selected to the Indian Police Service where he had served one year.
Alphons Kannanthanam, MoS (Ind. Charge) Tourism & MoS Electronics & Information Technology
Bureaucrat-turned-politician Alphons Kannanthanam began his political journey by becoming an Independent MlA backed by the CPI(M) in Kerala in 2006. Kannanthanam, a 1979 batch IAS officer, quit his high-profile career and plunged into electoral politics by successfully contesting from Kanjirappally in Kottayam district. Though he was offered a second chance by the left in the next Assembly polls, Kannanthanam, in a surprise move, turned down the offer, saying that he wanted to shift his activities to the national level. He later joined the BJP in 2011 and became a Member in party’s National executive.
During his stint as IAS officer, Kannanthanam served in different key positions. He shot into fame when he was the commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority during 1990s and his anti-encroachment drive against thousands of illegal constructions gave him the name ‘demolition man’. As an IAS officer, he played a key role in Kerala’s success in literacy Mission in 90s. Born in 1953, he left IAS and was elected as MlA in 2006. In 1994, he was featured in Time magazine’s list of 100 Young Global leaders. Induction of Kannanthanam, who is a practicing advocate, into the NDA cabinet is widely seen as a move of the BJP to make inroads in the Christian belt in the State.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MoS Health and Family Welfare
Elected to the Bihar legislative Assembly for five consecutive terms, Ashwini Kumar Choubey is the BJP’s prominent Brahmin face from the State. Choubey, 64, is known for the slogan Ghar-ghar me ho shouchalaya ka nirman, tabhi hoga ladli bitiya ka kanyadaan and helped in constructing 11,000 toilets for Mahadalit families. Choubey represents Buxar in the lok Sabha and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates, Standing Committee on Energy and Consultative Committee on Health and Family Welfare. He is also a member of Central Silk Board.
Choubey held important portfolios in Bihar Government, such as Urban development, PHED and Health in both in NDA I (2005-2010) and NDA II (2010-2013). A Bachelors in Zoology from Science College, Patna University, Choubey has also authored a book — Kedarnath Trasadi based on the 2013 deluge in Uttarakhand. Choubey along with his family had escaped the Kedarnath floods. Choubey, who was born on January 2, 1953 at Dariyapur in Bhagalpur, is a political and social worker and agriculturist. Starting his early politics as student union leader in Patna University, Choubey went on to become its president in 1978-79. He also took part in JP movement and was taken into custody under MISA during emergency. Choubey was a full time member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad from 1974 to 1987.
Virendra Kumar, MoS Women and Child Development, Minority Affairs
Associated with the RSS from childhood, Virendra Kumar is a six-time lok Sabha member from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP’s Dalit face. The 63-year-old is passionate about the cause of cow protection and is closely associated with the successful management and functioning of the Gau Seva Sangh Sanstha in Sagar town of Madhya Pradesh. Kumar is known for his simplicity and is often seen taking a lift from anyone in the town to reach his destination. He still roams around in his constituency on a scooter and stays away from all kinds of security paraphernalia usually associated with the post.
Born on February 27, 1954, Kumar became MP for the first time in 1996 in the 11th lok Sabha from Sagar. Since then he has never looked back and won from Sagar till 2004. After delimitation he won the lower house elections from Tikamgarh seat in 2009 and 2014. An MA in Economics and PhD in Child labour from the prestigious Dr Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, Kumar started his career as an RSS worker and actively participated in the Total Revolution Movement started by lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan in 1975. He was sentenced for 16 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Sagar and Jabalpur jails. Before becoming an MP, Kumar held various positions in ABVP and Bajrang Dal. He was a member of various standing committees including on labour welfare, SC/ST welfare and was chairperson on standing committee on energy since September 1, 2016.
Shiv Pratap Shukla, MoS Finance
Former Uttar Pradesh Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla brings with him a rich organisational as well as ministerial experience to the Union Cabinet. 65-year-old Shukla hails from Gorakhpur. Born in Khajni, Rudrapur in Uttar Pradesh, a village near Gorakhpur district to a middle-class family, Shukla completed his graduation in law from the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University. His political life started in the early 1970s when he was the student leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and in 1981, was elected as the Provincial Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
He was jailed several times during his student days. During Emergency, he was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and was in prison for 19 months from 1975 to 1977.
The 65-year-old is known for his work as the Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh, where he initiated an ‘education for all’ scheme and for his efforts to reform conditions for prisoners and various rural development schemes. A member of the Rajya Sabha representing Uttar Pradesh, he becomes a Central Minister for the first time.
He was appointed vice president of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh in February, 2012. He was elected as a member of the legislative Assembly four consecutive times in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1996. He was appointed as a State Minister in the BJP-led Governments in Uttar Pradesh.
He became a Minister for jails in 1996-1998 under the Bharatiya Janata Party-Bahujan Samaj Party rule, a short-lived coalition Government of Mayawati and Kalyan Singh, and was later appointed as the Minister for rural development in 1998 under Rajnath Singh-led BJP Government. Before this tenure, he also held a Ministerial post during the Kalyan Singh-led BJP Government of 1991-1992.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, MoS Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
A technology-savvy farmer Gajendra Singh Shekhawat comes from Jodhpur, the home district of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and is a prominent member of the Rajput community. Born in Rajasthan’s Sikar on October 3, 1967, he was the national general secretary of the farmers’ wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP Kisan Morcha. His inclusion in the Cabinet comes ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly elections due next year. Shekhawat was the co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the RSS, and the general secretary of ‘Seema Jan Kalyan Samiti’, an organisation dedicated to strengthen national security by developing border towns and villages. He was also instrumental in setting up 40 schools and 4 hostels along the Indo-Pak border.
Starting his political career with student politics, he rose through the party ranks since being elected as president of student union of JNVU University in 1992 under the banner of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad(ABVP). Shekhawat had won the elections by a record margin. He was elected as an MP from Jodhpur in 2014 with a margin of 4,10,051 votes. Known for his simple lifestyle and amiable nature, he is popularly referred to as ‘Gajju bana’ by his followers. Trains are his preferred mode of transport and he travels by Mandore Express, the superfast train which runs between Jodhpur and Delhi, almost every weekend for official duties.
He has an MPhil and MA in Philosophy from Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur. He was a sports enthusiast and played basketball at national and inter-university level. He was a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Chairperson of the Fellowship Committee.He was also a member of the All India Council of Sports and the President of Basketball India Players Association.
Ananth Kumar Hegde, MoS Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
A five-time Member of Parliament from Uttara Kannada lok Sabha constituency, having entered the Parliament at the age of 28, he is currently the member of parliamentary standing committee on External Affairs and Human Resources. Born on 20 May, 1968 at Sirsi in Uttara Kannada to a Brahmin family, Hegde is intermediate educated, and has interest towards Tae Kwon Do (Korean Martial Arts).
Currently the Karnataka BJP vice-president, he is also the founder president of Kadamba, a national-level NGO working in the field of rural development, rural health, formation of self help groups, rural marketing among others. He has also been the member of various parliamentary committees.