Arjun Ram Meghwal is an Indian former bureaucrat, politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On September 3, 2017, he was appointed Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India. He has served as Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (2019-2021), Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (2016-2017), and Minister of State for Water Resources (2016-2017) in the Government of India. He succeeds Kiren Rijiju as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice on May 18, 2023.
Wiki/Biography
Arjun Ram Meghwal was born on Sunday, December 20, 1953, in Kismidesar Village, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India (69 as of 2022 age). His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He received his primary education in the village public school. He received his secondary education from Jawahar Jain Secondary School, Binasar. He married Pana Devi when he was in eighth grade. After marriage he continued his studies and obtained BA and LLB from Government Dungar College, Bikaner. He studied for his LLB while working as a telephone operator. He then studied for a master’s degree in political science at the same university. He then pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of the Philippines. After completing his formal education, he started preparing for competitive examinations. He passed the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) examination in 1982 and served in various capacities in the state services before being promoted as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in 1999.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family and caste
He was born into an untouchable caste (Dalit) family belonging to the textile community.
Parents and siblings
His father’s name was Lakhu Ram Meghwal and his mother’s name was Heera Devi Meghwal; she died in 2014. Their profession is that of weavers.
Arjun Ram Meghwal’s mother Sheila Devi Meghwal
wife and children
He married Pana Devi on May 12, 1968, in Nal Badi village, when he was in class 8. They have two sons, Ravi Shekhar Meghwal and Naveen Meghwal, and two daughters. Ravi Shekhar Meghwal was a Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officer who later became a politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Naveen Meghwal serves as Director of ICCR Bali.
Arjun Ram Meghwal with wife and son Naveen Meghwal
Arjun Ram Meghwal’s son Ravi Shekhar Meghwal
others
His cousin Madan Gopal Meghwal is also a politician of the Indian National Congress (INC). Madan Gopal Meghwal was the son of Arjun Ram Meghwal’s aunt (Mausi).
Madan Gopal Meghwal
Religion/Religious Views
He believes in Hinduism.
address
His permanent address is “Sansad Sewa Kendra” C-66, KK Colony, Joiya Market, Bikaner, Rajasthan.
Signature/Autograph
Arjun Ram Meghwal’s signature
Profession
While preparing for competitive examinations, he started working as a telephone operator in the Indian Department of Posts and Telecommunications. He also ran for and won election to the position of Telephone Traffic Secretary. While working as a telephone operator, he started preparing for competitive examinations to get a government job. Although he cleared the written test in the first try but failed in the interview with the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS), he did not give up. In 1982, he passed the RAS exam for the second time. In 1994, he was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) by the then Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Hari Shankar Bhabhra. In the same year, he became the state president of the Udhyog Seva Parishad in Rajasthan. After being appointed as Additional Collector (Development) of Barmer, he won the election as General Secretary of Dr Ambedkar Memorial Welfare Society, Rajasthan. Before being promoted as an IAS officer in 1999, he held various positions in the state agency. As an IAS officer, he served in various capacities in the Rajasthan cadre including District Magistrate (Collector), Churu, Rajasthan. Ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Meghwal took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service and entered politics as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Arjun Ram Meghwal and Narendra Modi
In 2009, he contested and won the Bikaner Lok Sabha seat, defeating Congress candidate Rewat Ram Panwar by 19,575 votes. Thereafter, he became a member of the External Affairs Advisory Committee and a member of the National Core Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party. From August 31, 2009 to June 20, 2010, he served as a member of the Standing Committee on National Defense. In 2010, he was appointed as the Vice-President of Rajasthan of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the same year, he also became the national executive member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Other positions he has held include Member of the Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests (21 June 2010 to 31 August 2011), Member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Complaints, Law and Justice (31 August 2011) ), Anuvrat Convenor Parliamentary Forum (from 2011), Member of Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) (from 1 December 2011), Member of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Committee (from 1 May 2012) and Absentee Committee Member House of Representatives (April 21, 2013).
Arjun Ram Meghwal holds a meeting with other BJP leaders at the BJP national office
In 2014, he contested and won the Bikaner Lok Sabha seat, defeating Congress candidate Shankar Pannu by 3,08,079 votes. On July 12, 2014, he became the chief whip of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He held various positions during the first Modi government, including member of the Business Advisory Council (June 13, 2014 to July 5, 2016) and member of the Standing Committee on Railways (September 1, 2014 to 2016 July 5). From September 15, 2014 to July 5, 2016, he served as a member of the Ethics Committee, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs and an executive member of the Parliamentary Group on India. He served as Chairman of the House Committee from November 28, 2014 to July 5, 2016, and as a member of the Profit Office Joint Committee from December 11, 2014 to July 5, 2016. Between January 29, 2015 and July 5, 2016, he served as a member of the General Purpose Membership Committee, a member of the SSA Council and a member of the National Khadi and Rural Industries Committee. Other positions he held include member of the Estimates Committee (May 1, 2015 to July 5, 2016) and member of the Third Subcommittee of the Estimates Committee (July 3, 2015). In 2016, Meghwal was inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers and subsequently served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (July 5, 2016 to September 3, 2017), Water Resources, River Development and Economy Minister of State for River Rehabilitation (July 5, 2016 to September 3, 2017), and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs (September 3, 2017).
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal speaks in Lok Sabha
In 2019, he was re-elected to the Bikaner Assembly seat, defeating Congress member Madan Gopal Meghwal by more than 6.5 lakh votes. From May 30, 2019 to July 7, 2021, he served as Modi’s second Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. On May 18, 2023, he took office as Minister of State for Law and Justice (Independent Responsibility).
Kiren Rijiju (left) hands over the responsibilities of the Ministry of Law and Justice to Arjun Ram Meghwal (right) on May 18, 2023
dispute
Claim ‘Bhabhi Ji’ Papad can stop COVID-19
In July 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Meghwal came under fire for promoting unscientific claims that ‘Bhabhi Ji’ Papad could help create antibodies needed to fight Covid-19. Just two weeks after making the statement, Meghwal himself tested positive for the coronavirus.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
In 2013, he was awarded the Best Parliamentarian Award by the UPA government.
Arjun Ram Meghwal won the Best Parliamentarian Award (2013)
Assets and property
movable property
- Bank Deposit: Rs. 1,03,57,629
real estate
- Non-agricultural land: Rs. 5,00,000
- Residential Building: Rs. 4,00,000
Note: Movable and immovable property estimates given are based on fiscal year 2018-2019. It does not include assets owned by his wife and dependents.
net worth
His net worth in 2019 was Rs. 1,04,87,315. This does not include his wife and dependents’ net worth.
Facts/Trivia
- Meghwal was born into a traditional weaving family and grew up weaving with his father. He said in an interview,
I was born into a traditional weaver family in the village of Kismidsa (Bikaner), where few students of my age went to school. During my school and college years, I often knitted to support my family and my education. “
Photos of Arjun Ram Meghwal weaving
- From 2011 to 2014, he served as co-chair of the Judicial Reservation Committee of the State Supreme Court Council.
- As the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha in 2014, Meghwal often cycled to Parliament wearing his trademark Rajasthani turban, kurta pajama and sleeveless jacket to show off his bikanari identity. There is a banner on his bike with the colors of the BJP on the background indicating that he is the MP from Bikaner.
Meghwal wears his signature Rajasthani attire while cycling outside Parliament
- In 2013, he introduced an anti-gay bill in the Lok Sabha.
- Ahead of the 2014 elections, Meghwal had made headlines for taking issue with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra over alleged “illegal” land deals in Bikaner.
- In 2016, he was appointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers, which was seen as an attempt by the BJP to balance caste relations in Rajasthan as the party had dropped the Ganga Nagar MP and the BJP Nihal Chand Meghwal of Panchayati Raj Division. Nihal Chand Meghwal, also from the SC community, was expelled from the party as he faced investigations related to the 2011 rape case.
- Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, seven-time MP Devi Singh Bhati resigned from the BJP and campaigned against Meghwal, claiming that Meghwal was against the BJP and Divide people along caste lines. Meghwal also faces competition from within the family ahead of the elections as the Congress has fielded his cousin Madan Gopal Meghwal, an IPS officer who also voluntarily retired to enter Political arena.
- As MoS of the Ministry of Culture, Meghwal strongly advocated for declaration of Mangal Hills in Rajasthan as a monument of national importance. On November 17, 1913, 1,500 Bhil tribal freedom fighters were killed in a clash with British troops in the Mangarh hills.
- Apart from being a politician, the MP is also known for occasionally singing spiritual bhajans. He also sang in the 100th episode of Prime Minister Modi’s Mann ki Baat.
Arjun Ram Meghwal sings spiritual bhajan at Hunar Haat Agra
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education