advertisement
Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar was on Thursday picked as the Opposition’s candidate to take on National Democratic Alliance’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential election due next month.
Meira Kumar is the daughter of the former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram and freedom fighter Indrani Devi.
She attended Pelham Girls’ School and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public School and went on to complete her MA and LLB from Indraprastha College and Miranda House, respectively.
She held the post of Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009 during the UPA regime.
Kumar’s political career also has its share of controversies. In a contentious move, the UPA government allowed Kumar to retain a Lutyens Zone bungalow that was allotted to her father during his term till 2038.
She was given rights to the bungalow while she already had one for herself in Akbar Road, by virtue of being the Speaker.
She allegedly encroached upon the bungalow, overruling a decision made by the NDA cabinet in 2000 that banned further conversion of bungalows into memorials to deal with the shortage of accommodation for ministers.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 22 Jun 2017,06:25 PM IST