Meira Kumar 'a crusader for social justice' - Here are some quick facts about Opposition presidential pick

Making the 2017 presidential election more interesting, the Congress-led Opposition on Thursday declared former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its official candidate to take on the NDA nominee, Ram Nath Kovind.

New Delhi: Making the crucial presidential election more interesting, the Congress-led Opposition on Thursday declared former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its top choice to take on NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

A decision in this regard was taken following a meeting of 17 opposition parties, which was attended by Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sharad Pawar, Ahmed Patel, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Omar Abdullah among others.

Though Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee, BSP’s Mayawati and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav gave the meeting a miss, they sent their representatives. 

Announcing her candidature at a press conference in Delhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Opposition parties have unanimously proposed the name of Meira Kumar for the upcoming Presidential election.''

Azad even referred to Meira Kumar as a “crusader for social justice”.

Here are some quick facts about the Opposition front-runner Meira Kumar:-

-Kumar was born in 1945 in Patna, Bihar. 

-She holds an MA and LLB degrees along with an advanced diploma in Spanish.

-Meira, like Kovind, belongs to the scheduled caste. 

-She is the daughter of former deputy prime minister late Jagjivan Ram, a Dalit leader.

-In 1973, Kumar joined the Indian Foreign Service. 

-She has also worked at High Commission of India in London and with the Ministry of External Affairs during 19980-1985.

-In 1985, she was elected to the Lok Sabha.

-Kumar was the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha and a five time Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. 

-She served as the Speaker from 2009 to 2014.

-Kumar, a member of Congress, has also served as a Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004-2009.

-Besides politics, Kumar actively works for social reforms and human rights.

-She is married to Manjul Kumar, a lawyer, and has four children.