Arjun Ram Meghwal
Arjun Ram Meghwal (born 20 December 1954) is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and former party Chief Whip in 16th Lok Sabha. Currently, he is Union Minister of State in Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs in Government of India. He has been elected to the 15th 16th Lok Sabha and 17th Lok Sabhas (terms of the lower house of the Parliament of India) from Bikaner constituency, in 2009, 2014 and 2019. He was awarded the Best Parliamentarian Award in 2013. Mr. Meghwal doesn't use the car provided by the government in commuting for work. Instead, he uses his push-bike as a local transport mode. Because of this habit of cycling, Meghwal has caught attention of people on several occasions be it cycling to the parliament or cycling for the oath taking ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, later he was restricted from using bicycle due to security concerns.[1]
Arjun Ram Meghwal | |
---|---|
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs | |
Assumed office 31 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Prahlad Joshi |
Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises | |
Assumed office 31 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Minister | Prakash Javadekar |
Preceded by | Babul Supriyo |
Union Minister of State, Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation | |
In office 3 September 2017 – 24 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Sanjeev Balyan |
Succeeded by | Rattan Lal Kataria |
Union Minister of State, Finance Minister | |
In office 5 July 2016 – 3 September 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Jayant Sinha |
Succeeded by | Shiv Pratap Shukla |
Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha | |
Assumed office 31 May 2009 | |
Preceded by | Dharmendra |
Constituency | Bikaner |
Personal details | |
Born | Bikaner, Rajasthan, India | 20 December 1954
Spouse(s) | Pana Devi |
Residence | Bikaner |
Occupation | Civil servant |
Website | arjunrammeghwal |
Personal Details
He was born to Lakhu Ram Meghwal and Hira Devi in a small village of Kishmidesar in Bikaner, Rajasthan. He is an Master of Arts in Pol. Science, LLB and MBA from Dungar College in Bikaner and University of Philippines in Philippines.[2][3] He was also an IAS Officer in Rajasthan Cadre and seen as the face of Schedule caste in Rajasthan.[4]
He is married Pana Devi and is blessed with 2 sons and 2 daughters. He is a good player of Badminton and is a Farmer and Educationist by profession.[5] His cousin Madan Gopal Meghwal is also a politician from Indian National Congress.[4]
Career
After completing graduation in Law in the year 1977 and post-graduation in Arts in the year 1979 as a regular student, In 1982, he qualified the RAS Exams and got elected for the Rajasthan Udhyog Seva. He was appointed as Assistant Director in the Jila Udhyog Kendra, and worked as the General Manager of Jila Udhyog Kendra of Jhunjhnu, Dhaulpur, Rajsamvad, Jaipur, Alwar & Shriganganagar districts of Rajasthan.
In the year 1994, he was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Mr. Harishankar Bhabda, then Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. While working as OSD to Dy. CM, he was also having charge of General Manager of Jila Udhyog Kendra, Jaipur. In the same year, he was elected as the State President for Rajasthan Udhyog Seva Parisad. Then, he was appointed as Additional Collector (Development) in Barmer. Later on, he won the election of General Secretary for Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society, Rajasthan. He was promoted as IAS officer of 1999 batch in Rajasthan cadre & worked on many administrative posts like Deputy Secretary, Technical Education; Special Secretary, Higher Education; Managing Director, Rajasthan Laghu Udhyog Nigam Limited; Additional Commissioner; Commercial Tax Department; District Collector and District Magistrate, Churu. He took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in order to join politics.
In the year 2009, he got elected as the Member of Parliament[6] representing the Bhartiya Janata Party from Bikaner Constituency. On 2 June 2009, took oath as the Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha. In general election 2014, he got re-elected from the Bikaner Constituency for 16th Lok Sabha. During his 2nd term as an MP, he was Chief Whip of Bhartiya Janta Party in Lok Sabha. Speaker of Lok Sabha also nominated him as the Chairman of House Committee, Lok Sabha.
In May 2019, Meghwal became Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.[7]
References
- IANS (31 May 2019). "Arjun Meghwal: A politician who loves to travel by bicycle (Profile)". Business Standard. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "Arjun Ram Meghwal | National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- https://mpa.gov.in/about-us/meet-the-ministers-or-secretary/ministers/shri-arjun-ram-meghawal
- "Arjun Meghwal, Who Started Out As A Telephone Operator, Back in PM's Team". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Profile of Arjun Ram Meghwal". Nationsroot Inc.
- "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers", Live Mint, 31 May 2019