News Analysis India

Tag: Meira Kumar

  • Caste system remains greatest enemy, Meira Kumar on Rajasthan incident

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: After a Dalit boy was beaten to death in a Rajasthan school for drinking water from a pitcher belonging to an upper caste teacher, former Speaker Meira Kumar said a century ago her father was subjected to the same treatment but his life was saved.

    Kumar’s father Jagjivan Ram was the Deputy Prime Minister of India.

    “100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved,” she tweeted.

    “Today, a nine-year-old #Dalit boy has been killed for the same reason. 75 long years after Independence, caste system remains our greatest enemy,” she said.

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of the third standard student of Sarasvati Vidyalaya in Rajasthan’s Jalore district, who was thrashed by the headmaster of the school. He later died during the course of treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad.

    The Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, seeking a detailed report in the matter.

    NEW DELHI: After a Dalit boy was beaten to death in a Rajasthan school for drinking water from a pitcher belonging to an upper caste teacher, former Speaker Meira Kumar said a century ago her father was subjected to the same treatment but his life was saved.

    Kumar’s father Jagjivan Ram was the Deputy Prime Minister of India.

    “100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved,” she tweeted.

    “Today, a nine-year-old #Dalit boy has been killed for the same reason. 75 long years after Independence, caste system remains our greatest enemy,” she said.

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of the third standard student of Sarasvati Vidyalaya in Rajasthan’s Jalore district, who was thrashed by the headmaster of the school. He later died during the course of treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad.

    The Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, seeking a detailed report in the matter.

  • Lalu’s ‘derogatory’ comment on Congress leader has hurt self-respect of Dalits: Meira Kumar

    By PTI

    PATNA: Senior Congress leader Meira Kumar on Monday slammed RJD president Lalu Prasad for allegedly making a derogatory comment on party leader Bhakta Charan Das, claiming that it has hurt the self-respect of the entire Dalit community.

    Prasad on Sunday mocked Das, a Dalit leader and the Congress’ in-charge of Bihar, who has been targeting the RJD after the Prasad-led party fielded candidates for two by-polls in the state without consulting the Congress, an alliance partner.

    “A respected leader has used objectionable language against Bihar Congress in-charge Bhakta Charan Das, hurting self-respect of the Dalit community of Bihar and the country. It (the language) qualifies as an offence under the SC/ST Act,” Kumar, a former Lok Sabha Speaker and a Dalit herself, said at Patna airport.

    Such comments against the Congress leader have exposed the mindset of the RJD, she claimed.

    Kumar arrived in Patna to campaign for Congress candidates in Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats where by-elections will be held on October 30.

    By-polls to the two seats have been necessitated by deaths of the respective MLAs, both belonging to the JD(U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival.

    Prasad on Sunday questioned the Congress’ usefulness as an ally and wondered if his party should have left an assembly bypoll seat in the state for the national party so that it could lose even its deposit.

    The RJD has the largest number of MLAs in the 243-strong assembly and it has been claiming that it will wrest the two seats from the ruling NDA and trigger a “khela” (upheaval) in the state’s politics.

    Prasad, who returned to Patna after three years on Sunday, is expected to campaign for RJD candidates in the two seats.

    He was last seen here in September 2018, after which he returned to Ranchi to serve his sentences upon expiry of the period of his bail, granted to attend elder son Tej Pratap’s wedding and extended a number of times to help him avail medical treatment.

  • Will Bihar Congress get a bureaucrat-turned-politician as party’s state boss?

    Express News Service

    PATNA: The Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC), which is now part of RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) with only 19 MLAs, is likely to get a bureaucrat-turned-politician as the Bihar state president. 

    If this comes true, it would be the first time when the congress party high command will appoint a bureaucrat-turned-politician as the state president.

    The central command of the party is learnt to have started considering the name of party’s two bureaucrat-turned–politicians out of four recommended names to appoint as the new president of the Bihar Pradesh Congress. This comes after the recent poll debacle in 2020 assembly polls, in which out of 70 contested seats, only 19 were won with the support of RJD.

    Sources in the party said that Bhakat Charan Das, the in-charge of party affairs in Bihar, has sent a recommendation of four names, among them two are the bureaucrats-turned politicians-namely Meira Kumar and Nikhil Kumar, for the final selection of state head of party.

    “At a time, when the entire politics of state is revolving around the OBCs and the SC/ST vote bank, the Congress Party can not remain unorganised”, a senior Congress leader said.

    The names doing round for the next state president are Tariq Anwar from minority section, Rajesh Ram from the SC community, Meira Kumar from the SC community and Nikhil Kumar from upper caste (Rajput) community.

    Till date, Madan Mohan Jha has been heading the party in Bihar but after his decision to step a side from the responsibility, race for the new party president has intensified with a speculation of next new party president would be a bureaucrat-turned politician.

    Many leaders are also lobbying to get appointed as the new state president of the party.

    “Congress party in Bihar, when the BJP, JDU and RJD are in political dominace, needs the most able, experienced and qualified state president, who can work suitably from all angles — caste factor, qualification and people’s impression. In such a situation, the possibility of either Meira Kumar or Nikhil Kumar, both bureaucrat turned politicians, are seen to be high”, said some leaders.

    Who is Meira Kumar?

    Meira Kumar was the minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009 and had graced the chair of Lok Sabha Speaker from 2009 to 2014. She belongs to a schedule caste family in Patna and is the daughter of veteran leader (late) Jagjivan Ram, who was the deputy Prime Minister too.

    Well educated, well articulated orator, Meira Kumar had joined the Indian Foreign Services in 1973 and was posted as language trainee at the Embassy of India in Spain.

    She is said to be well versed in Spanish language apart from English, Hindi and other languages. She had also worked as the High Commission of India in UK and after years of diplomat, she quit the job and joined the politics in 1985.

    She was elected from Bijnor in UP in by-poll of Lok Sabha. She was appointed after being elected from Bijnor LS defeating tow other veteran Dalit leaders Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan as the member of Ministry of External Affairs Consultative Committee in 1986.

    Since then she is active in parliamentary politics and many a time considered being the CM face of Congress in Bihar. She carries equal respect across all castes in Bihar including the upper castes also. 

    Who is Nikhil Kumar?

    Nikhil Kumar, the 1963-batch IPS officer worked as Delhi police commissioner is another name in the race of new state president of party. He is the second bureaucrat turned politician, belonging to upper caste Rajput, racing ahead for becoming the next state president after Madan Mohan Jha.

    He had also served as the governor of Nagaland and Kerala.He carries a political legacy of his father (late) Satyendra Narayan Sinha, who was the CM of Bihar. Nikhil Kumar’s mother Kishori Sinha and wife Shyama Sinha were also MPs from Bihar’s Vaishali and Aurangabad LS seats. His grand father AN Sinha was also the first deputy CM of Bihar and known as Bihar -Vibhuti in politics.

    He is also taken like Meira Kumar in high regards by the people of all castes and creed in the state. The most interesting is that both these bureaucrat-turned politicians are considered to be close political confidants of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. 

    “It is now to be seen as who out of the two is trusted more by the Congress boss”, remarked a senior leader of Congress party.