New Delhi: A ministerial berth for Rajya
Sabha member Ashwani Kumar is seen as an effort to give more
representation to Punjab, which goes to polls next year.
58-year-old Kumar, who joins a growing list of
lawyer-turned ministers in the UPA-II Cabinet, returns to the
Union government after a gap having had a stint in the
Congress-led alliance`s first term.
Kumar, who is a practicing senior lawyer in the Supreme
Court, comes from a family with a political background.
A former Congress national spokesperson, Kumar is son of
Prabodh Chandra -- a former speaker of Punjab Assembly.
Born in Delhi, he has written several articles on law,
economic reforms, elections, democracy and international
affairs.
He is a former Additional Solicitor General of India and
was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002.
Re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002, Kumar was the
Minister of State of Industries in the UPA-I.
An active Parliamentarian, he was member in the Committee
on External Affairs and Committee on Public Accounts.
PTI
