Udit Raj is an Indian politician and spokesperson for the Indian National Congress (INC) party. He was a former MP from the North West constituency of New Delhi.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Udit Raj was born on 26 January 1961 (age 62 years; as in 2023) in Ramnagar, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Their zodiac sign is Aquarius. He completed his primary education from Pre-Secondary School, Samogra, Allahabad and higher secondary education (12th) from Lala Ramlal Aggarwal Inter College, Sirsa, Allahabad. In 1980, he enrolled in a German language course at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Later, he earned a Master of Arts degree from Osmania University Hyderabad and then an LLB in 1990. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Bible College and Seminary Kota, Rajasthan.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Weight (Approx): 70 kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: black
Family
He belongs to a Dalit Khatri family.
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Kalan Singh; He was in the Indian Army. Kalan Singh took early retirement from the army and started farming.
Udit Raj’s father
Udit’s mother’s name is Sukh Dei; She was a housewife.
Udit Raj’s mother
Udit is the second child among six children in his family. He has two sisters named Shyama Kumari and Kamla and three brothers. His two brothers’ names are Ramsagar and Kalicharan; Kalicharan is a former MLA of Uttar Pradesh.
Udit Raj’s elder brother Ram Sagar
Kalicharan, brother of Udit Raj
Udit Raj’s sister Kamla
Udit Raj’s sister Shyama
wife and children
Udit married Seema Bahl on 24 March 1990. Seema is the Income Tax Commissioner in the Government of India.
Udit Raj with Seema Behl on his wedding day
The couple have two children, a son, Abhiraj, born in 1991, and a daughter, Saveri Raj, born in 1996.
Udit Raj’s son Abhiraj
Udit Raj’s daughter Saveri
relationships/affairs
Udit met Seema Bahl during his training period at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) in Nagpur. Seema belongs to an upper caste group. They were both probationary trainees at the time and fell in love during the training period as they shared similar ideologies on casteism and its eradication.
Udit Raj with Seema Bahl when he was on probation
Religion
On 4 November 2001, Udit Raj along with hundreds of Dalit people converted to Buddhism.
Caste
He belongs to Scheduled Caste category.
Address
He lives at 192, North Avenue, Near RML Hospital, New Delhi-110001
livelihood
Civil servant
In 1988, Udit Raj passed the UPSC Civil Services Examination and was allotted the Indian Revenue Service. In 1989, he joined the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur as a trainee. In July 1990 he got his first posting as Assistant Tax Commissioner in Meerut. Then after a few months, he along with his wife got posted in Ghaziabad where he served for five years. In 1996 he was posted in Delhi. He resigned from the post of Additional Tax Commissioner in 2003.
Politician
Udit resigned from civil services on 24 November 2003 to pursue his political aspirations. In November 2003 he founded the Indian Justice Party.
Udit Raj during the meeting of Indian Justice Party
In February 2014, he dissolved his party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fielded him as its candidate from the North West constituency of Delhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha general election. He defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Rakhi Birla by a huge margin of 1.06 lakh votes and became the Member of Parliament.
During his tenure as MP, he served as a member of the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs and a member of the Standing Committee in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. In 2019, he left the BJP and joined the Indian National Congress over the issue of BJP not giving him a ticket in the 2019 general elections. Congress made him the spokesperson of the party.
Sheila Dikshit welcomes Udit Raj into Congress party
Editor and Writer
He founded a bilingual fortnightly newspaper called Voice of Buddha; He is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. This magazine mainly focuses on the issues and problems of Dalits, backward people and minorities.
Voice of Buddha by Udit Raj
controversies
Fake news spread in Unnao murder case!
In February 2021, Udit posted a tweet about the Unnao massacre of three minor girls, writing,
Spoke to former MP Savitribai Phule on phone. Only after much difficulty was he allowed to meet the victims. The families of the victims have said that the girls were raped and the bodies were burnt against their will.”
Uttar Pradesh Police took notice of the tweet and filed an FIR against Udit Raj under IPC section 153 (incitement to riot with intent) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act at the Kotwali (Sadar) police station in Unnao. Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Kulkarni alleged that the post was an attempt to create anger through misleading rumors as it was clear that the post-mortem had not confirmed rape and the bodies of the girls were buried as per the wishes of the family. .
Appealed not to go to temples
Related to a tweet posted in May 2022, Udit faced criticism when he suggested that Dalits, who often face abuse and physical violence while visiting temples, should avoid visiting temples . He further said that instead of sympathizing with the Dalits, they should be given more severe punishment for their actions.
Every day there are news that the deity is seen entering the temple or performing puja and is even beaten. I wish I could stop being the devil and being the devil. Why go where there is no respect?
– Dr. Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) 9 May 2022
Comment against President Draupadi Murmu
In October 2022, Udit used derogatory words for President Draupadi Murmu when he posted a tweet praising Gujarat for salt production. He said,
76% of the salt produced in the country is produced in Gujarat. It can be said that all the countrymen eat the salt of Gujarat.”
Udit got angry and targeted Murmu, he said,
No country should get a President like Draupadi Murmu. This is the height of sycophancy. She says that 70 percent people eat salt from Gujarat. Spend your life eating salt, then you will know the truth.”
The National Commission for Women summoned Udit for his comments. Later, Congress sidelined him for this comment. Udit apologized for the words he used and said that this is my personal opinion and the party has nothing to do with my opinion.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Fame India Best Parliamentarian Award 2018 by Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Udit Raj receives Fame India Shrestha Sansad Award 2018
property and properties
movable property
- Shares and Bonds: Rs. 93,396
Immovable property
- Residential Building: Rs. 2,00,000
Note: The given estimate of movable and immovable assets is as per the year 2014. It does not include property owned by his wife and dependents (minors).
net worth
Udit’s net worth for the financial year 2014–2015 was estimated to be Rs. 2,93,396. This does not include the net worth of his wife and dependents (minors).
Favorite
- Ideal: BR Ambedkar, Abraham Lincoln
Facts/General Knowledge
- His real name is Ramraj. After adopting Buddhism, on 24 November 2001, he changed his name from Ram Raj to Udit Raj.
- His hobbies include reading, writing and travelling.
- His father took a loan of Rs. 200-300 rupees to send to Delhi for studies.
- In June 1983, he went to Tihar Jail for participating in a hunger strike at Delhi University.
- Due to his active involvement in social and political activism, he faced a challenge in balancing his academic studies. In 1984–85, he had to appear for the UPPCS examination which was scheduled to be held at a center in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. At that time, farmers’ strike was going on in Meerut; Udit participated in the protest which resulted in his absence from the examination.
- In 1997, he founded the All India Confederation of SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) Organizations. It is the largest organization in the country fighting for the rights of SC/ST employees and officers in state government, central government, public sector undertakings and corporate sector.
Dr. Udit Raj presiding over the conference of All India Confederation of SCST Org.
- He gained fame among other Dalit leaders by organizing a massive gathering of supporters and activists advocating reservation rights at Ram Leela Maidan in New Delhi. This protest was in response to the government at that time issuing five anti-reservation orders, which had created a situation of turmoil across the country. Large-scale rallies were organized in New Delhi from 1997 to 2000. This conflict had a significant impact on the Indian government, resulting in three constitutional amendments being passed to restore previously revoked benefits. Prominent national leaders like VP Singh, Harkishan Singh Surjit, Chandrajit Yadav and Buta Singh participated in the rallies. Seeing the impact of the rally, it was even predicted that Udit Raj would become the future Prime Minister.
Udit Raj is leading the huge rally to save reservation.
- In 2005, the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, nominated him to the Council of National Unity, one of the top bodies in the Government of India; The main work of this council is to maintain the unity and integrity of the country. This council is headed by the Prime Minister.
- In 2005, a famous American Congressman named Joseph Pitts published a collection of his writings in English titled ‘Dalits and Religious Freedom’. There is a version of this book in Hindi also.
- In 2005, she participated in Congressional hearings in Washington and in 2008 represented the issue of minorities and Dalits at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
- He is the National President of Buddha Education Foundation which is working to promote education. The foundation operates schools primarily for Dalit children, underprivileged and minority groups.
- He loves animals and has three dogs, Bruno, Simba and Timor.
Udit Raj with his dogs
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn