BJP support ensures smooth sailing for Meira Kumar.
The decks have been cleared for Meira Kumar, Congress MP from Sasaram, Bihar, to become the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, with the main opposition party, the BJP, deciding not to oppose her candidature. She will be unanimously elected to the office on Wednesday.
Several sets of nomination papers are being prepared on her behalf signed by leaders of all supporting parties. The first set will be signed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee. In case of a unanimous election, the leader of the opposition also usually files a set of nomination papers, though it is still not known if the BJP will allow Kumar to be elected unopposed or whether it will be among the proposers.
It’s been eventful last few days for the soft-spoken Kumar. She was part of the first batch of ministers to be sworn in along with the prime minister and was made minister for water resources, a post she quit on Sunday after the Congress made public its decision to nominate her for speakership. In parliament on Monday, she was the recipient of some unexpected attention. After taking oath, Most MPs made it a point to greet her along with the PM, Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders in the House.
Kumar chose to say little to the media, save confirm that she had resigned from the cabinet. “Yes, I have resigned [from the council of ministers]. The United Progressive Alliance [UPA] has nominated me for the post of [Lok Sabha] speaker,” she said.
Kumar, daughter of former deputy PM and legendary Dalit leader the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, will be the first woman but second Dalit to hold the prestigious constitutional post. The only other Dalit to hold the office was GMC Balayogi in the NDA regime.
The diplomat-turned-politician - Kumar is a former IFS officer - has the rare distinction of being elected to parliament from three states. She resigned from IFS in 1985 to join politics on then PM Rajiv Gandhi’s request.
Kumar contested and won the Bijnor seat in UP. She was re-elected to the eleventh and 12th Lok Sabhas from Delhi’s Karol Bagh constituency but lost the seat in the BJP wave of 1999.
She quit the Congress in 2002 citing differences with party leadership, only to rejoin two years later. In 2004, she was re-elected to parliament from her father’s Sasaram constituency. In the previous UPA government, she served as the minister for social justice. She is the only Congress candidate, other than Asrarul Haque (Kishanganj), to be elected to parliament from Bihar in this election.
As an IFS officer, Kumar served at the embassies in Madrid, London and Mauritius during 1976-85. She also served as a member of the India-Mauritius Joint Commission and was a member of the consultative committee of the ministry of external affairs during 1986-89 and 1996-98.
A lawyer by profession and a former member of the Supreme Court (SC) Bar Council, Kumar has filed several PILs against atrocities on SCs and STs. Married to a senior SC lawyer Manjul Sharma, she continues to fight for the rights of the underprivileged. They have a son, Anshul, and two daughters, Swati and Devangana, all married.
Interestingly, Kumar is also an ace rifle shooter - she won several medals in the sport - and a keen horse rider. She is a member of Delhi Rifle Shooting and Equestrian Club.
Breaking the glass ceiling
Meira Kumar will be the first woman and second Dalit speaker of the Lok Sabha
The first Dalit speaker was GMC Balayogi in the NDA regime
The diplomat-turned-politician — Kumar is a former IFS officer — has the rare distinction of being elected to parliament from three states
She resigned from IFS in 1985 to join politics on then PM Rajiv Gandhi’s request
She is the only Congress candidate, other than Asrarul Haque (Kishanganj), to be elected to parliament from Bihar in this election
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