Ashwani Kumar

This article is about the politician. For the retired IPS officer, see Ashwani Kumar (IPS).
Ashwani Kumar
Minister of Law and Justice
In office
28 October 2012 – 10 May 2013
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Preceded by Salman Khurshid
Succeeded by Kapil Sibal
Personal details
Born (1952-10-26) 26 October 1952
Delhi, India
Political party Indian National Congress
Spouse(s) Madhu Kumar (1975–2012)
Children Urvashi Kumar Trikha (Daughter) Ashish Kumar (Son)
Alma mater University of Delhi
Panjab University
Profession Lawyer
Website Official website

Ashwani Kumar represents the Indian National Congress party from Punjab in the Rajya Sabha. He has been nominated as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests in September 2014. He has also been nominated as Member of the General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha and Member of the Consultative Committee for Ministry of Defence in January 2015. He has held key ministerial portfolios in the UPA government, including Ministry of Law and Justice; Parliamentary Affairs; Science and Technology and Ministry of Planning. In 1991, at the age of 37 he was appointed one of the youngest Additional Solicitor General of India. He has served as Indian National Congress party's National Spokesperson and Chairman of its Vichar Vibhag. Kumar is an eminent legal counsel who has argued important cases before the Supreme Court including the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case and has also represented major corporations in international arbitrations. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2002.

Early life and education

Born in Delhi on 26 October 1952, Ashwani Kumar graduated from St.Stephen’s College, Delhi. Thereafter, he pursued law and earned his bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) from Faculty of Law, Delhi University, and his Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In 2004, Kumar earned a doctorate in Law from Panjab University. At the age of 34, the Supreme Court of India appointed him as a Senior Counsel, making him one of the youngest advocates in India to be conferred the honour by the apex court.

He married (Late)Smt.Madhu Kumar on 30 November 1975 and has a daughter and a son.

Ministerial responsibilities

Ashwani Kumar was the Minister of Law and Justice from 28 October 2012 to 11 May 2013. From 19 January 2011 to 11 May 2013, he was the Minister of State in the Ministry of Planning; Ministry of Science and Technology; and Ministry of Earth Sciences. He was also the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs from January to July 2011. Kumar was appointed as Member of Standing Committee on External Affairs in 2009.

Membership of committees and key positions held

Ashwani Kumar was appointed as Member of Standing Committee of Parliament on External Affairs in 2009. He also served as the Chairman of the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha for “The Prevention of Torture Bill”, 2010. He was also appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Defense and a member of the prestigious Public Accounts Committee in 2013. In 2014, Kumar was appointed a member of the Co-ordination Committee of the INC in Rajya Sabha and a member of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the INC which includes MP's from both the Houses of the Parliament. Kumar has also been a member of the Empowered Sub-Committee of the High Level Committee on Manufacturing and the Standing Committee on Commerce. Currently, Dr. Kumar has been nominated as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. In January 2015, Kumar was nominated as a Member of the General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha. He was also nominated as a Member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence in January 2015.

In 2014, Ashwani Kumar was appointed as a Member of the National Literacy Mission. He was a Member of the Indian Ministerial delegation for the 3rd Indo-US Strategic Dialogue and the 1st Indo-Japan Economic Dialogue held in New Delhi. Kumar was the Founder President of the Indo-French Parliamentary Friendship Group constituted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha in 2003.

Nominations

In 2013, Ashwani Kumar was nominated to represent India at the United Nations General Assembly Session in New York City. He also represented India at the Summer Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions (2011) in Dalian, People’s Republic of China. Kumar was appointed as the Accompanying Minister to the President of India Smt.Pratibha Devisingh Patil on her State Visit to Spain and Poland in 2009. Between 2006-2009 he was nominated as Accompanying Minister to The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe; The Prime Minister of UK, Gordon Brown; King Albert II of Belgium; and President of Kazakhastan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. In his official capacity Kumar has engaged with global leaders including President Simon Perez of Israel, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and President Sarkozy of France.

Academic roles

In 2013, he was invited as a speaker at the Aix Le Cercle des economists in Aix-en-Provence, France. In 2012, Kumar was the Keynote Speaker at the Harvard Club, New York City on “The Legal Architecture for consolidating the economic reform process in India” and was also a guest lecturer at MIT. In 2011 he was invited as the Keynote Speaker at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology Forum (STS) at Kyoto, Japan. Kumar was a guest speaker at The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2008. He was a visiting scholar at CSIS, Washington in 2004. In addition to writing a number of scholarly articles on law; economic reforms; elections; democracy and international affairs Kumar has also authored a book titled Law,Ideas and Ideology in Politics; Perspectives of an Activist in 2003.

Coalgate draft report controversy

The CBI Director, Ranjit Sinha, in April 2013, on the behest of the Honorable Supreme Court of India, submitted an affidavit on the draft investigative report on the Indian coal allocation scam, vetted by Ashwani Kumar prior to submission at the court. [1] The opposition claimed this event undermined the autonomy of the CBI and demanded Kumar’s resignation.[2] Kumar resigned from the cabinet on 10 May 2013.[3] While announcing his resignation Kumar stated that he was resigning only to ensure that the functioning of Parliament is not stalled and added that the Honorable Supreme Court had not made any adverse comments against him.[4]

After his resignation in May 2013, Kumar was elected as a Congress Party member of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. In November 2013, he was appointed as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Japan in the rank of a cabinet minister, in connection with the arrangements for the visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan and Prime Minister Abe to India. He was also nominated as member of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Defense in August 2013. Kumar addressed a session of the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council in October 2013 as member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to United Nations General Assembly. In September 2014, Dr. Kumar was appointed Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, which also concerns itself with legislative framework for Atomic Energy and Space, as a Congress party nominee. He has been made a member of the “shadow cabinet” on matters related to the ministries of Defence, Home and Law and Justice, by the Congress President in November 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "Coal-Gate: Affidavit filed in the Supreme Court by CBI Director". The Indian Express. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "I Have Done No Wrong: Law Min on Coalgate Report". Outlook Magazine. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  3. ↑ NDTV (2013-05-10). "Pawan Bansal, Ashwani Kumar resign as Union ministers". NDTV. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  4. ↑ NDTV (2013-05-11). "Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar speaks to the media: Highights". NDTV. Retrieved 2013-05-11.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Salman Khurshid		 Minister of Law and Justice
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
Kapil Sibal
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