Selja Kumari is an Indian politician. She belongs to the Congress party and served as a federal minister in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.
Wiki/Biography
Selja Kumari was born on Monday, 24 September 1962 in Chandigarh (age 61 years; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Libra. She was educated at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Delhi. She moved back to Chandigarh to pursue her M.A. and M.A. from Punjab University.
Selja Kumari when she was young
She was born in Chandigarh and grew up in New Delhi. Her father was a member of Parliament; so they moved to New Delhi. In 1987, her father died. After that, she decided to join politics like her father.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Eye color: dark brown
Hair color: black
family, caste and husband
Selja Kumari belongs to Ravidasia community. Her father Chaudhary Dalbir Singh is an Indian National Congress politician who was elected to the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Lok Sabha from Sirsa Assembly constituency in Haryana Member of the House of Representatives. Her mother Kalawati Bhankhor is a housewife.
- Marital status: Single
Selja Kumari’s father Chaudhry Dalbir Singh
Profession
In 1990, Selja Kumari joined the Indian National Congress (INC). In the same year, she was appointed joint secretary of Mahila Congress. In 1991, she was elected to the Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana. From July 1992 to September 1995, she was appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Union Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resource Development by the PV Narasimha Rao government. In September 1995, she was promoted to the Union Minister of State (MoS) Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resource Development.
In 1996, she was re-elected as Sirsa MP and was appointed secretary and spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) from 1996 to 2004. In 2004, she contested the Haryana general election from the Ambala Cannt Lok Sabha constituency and won. Lok Sabha constituencies. She was appointed Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Property Relief, by the Manmohan Singh government. In 2007, she was appointed President of the 21st Governing Council of UN-Habitat for a two-year term.
Selja Kumari speaks at a press conference
In 2009, she was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Ambala Kant. On May 31, 2009, she was appointed Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Tourism. On January 19, 2011, she was additionally charged by the Ministry of Culture. On October 28, 2012, following a cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Federal Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. In April 2014, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana. In 2014, she contested the general election but lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rattan Lal Kataria. On September 4, 2019, Sonia Gandhi appointed Selja as the president of the Haryana Congress Committee (PCC).
Kumari Selja on being appointed as Congress president in Haryana said: This is a huge responsibility that rests on my shoulders and we all have to work together. We adhere to the party’s ideology. pic.twitter.com/hZZGVNVzKx
— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2019
She contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Sirsa seat in Haryana and won.
dispute
- On March 11, 2011, the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a notice to Selja. She was charged with forgery, fabrication, criminal intimidation and conspiracy. The notice stated that she instigated members of the Balmiki community against Jat leaders in the Mirchipur case. The notice also accuses her of intimidating and pressuring people at trial and forcing them to sign blank and non-judicial documents to avoid lawsuits themselves.
- On October 6, 2013, Selja launched the “Kalka-Senagar Shirdi Super Fast Express” and took this train from Kalka to Chandigarh. As the train passed through the village of Manakpur, an unknown assailant threw a brick from the window. The brick hit Selja in the arm and she was injured. When asked about it the next day, she replied:
I have never faced such a situation in my political career, where the Congress people in Haryana not only turned against me but also tried to intimidate me. “
car collection
Selja Kumari owns a Honda City (2019 model)
assets/property
- Bank Deposits: INR 47.9 Crores
- Jewelry: 21.22 lacs INR
- Agricultural land: Hisar, Haryana worth INR 274 crore
- Agricultural land: Sonipat, Haryana worth INR 384 crore
- Non-agricultural land: Gurgaon, Haryana worth INR 141 crore
- Non-agricultural land: Silokhera, Haryana worth INR 134 crore
- Non-agricultural land: Faridabad, Haryana worth INR 4.78 Cr
- Non-agricultural land: Hisar, Haryana worth INR 73.20 Cr
- Non-agricultural land: Faridabad, Haryana worth INR 512 crore
- Non-agricultural land: Faridabad, Haryana worth INR 10.46 Cr
- Residential building in Hisar, Haryana worth INR 53.72 Cr
- Residential building in Hisar, Haryana worth INR 154 crore
Salary and Net Worth
- Salary: INR 1 + other allowances (as member of the House of Federation)
- Net worth: INR 20.05 million (2019)
Facts/Trivia
- Selja was one of the leaders close to Sonia Gandhi. In August 2013, when Sonia Gandhi was rushed to the hospital during a session of Parliament, she only asked Selja to accompany her to the hospital.
Selja Kumari accompanies Sonia Gandhi to the hospital
- On September 4, 2019, Sonia Gandhi appointed Selja as Haryana PCC president.
Selja Kumari appointed as Haryana PCC president
- On October 12, 2019, less than a month after taking charge of the Haryana Congress party, she expelled 16 Haryana Congress MPs. She said in a statement –
Sixteen people were expelled from parliament for violating the party constitution and participating as rebels in the 2019 parliamentary elections. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education