Sanjay Singh

Dr. Sanjay Singh (born 25 September 1951) is a politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He was twice elected to the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh during the 1980s and held state ministerial posts. In 1990, he became a member of the upper house of the Parliament of India, which is known as the Rajya Sabha, and in 1998 he was elected to the lower house, called the Lok Sabha. His term in the 12th Lok Sabha session lasted until the following year. Subsequently, in 2009, he was successful in obtaining a second term in that house as a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Sultanpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

Singh has held various ministerial portfolios and committee positions over the years, including as Union Minister for Communications in 1991.^[1]

Background

Sanjay Singh was born on 25 September 1951 in the city of Amethi, which was at that time in Sultanpur district.^[1] Born into the family that had once ruled Amethi, the New York Times described him in 1988 as a "wealthy, aristocratic and flamboyant politician".^[2]

A part of his education was at the city's Ranvir Rananjay Post-Graduate College and he gained both an MA in Hindi and a PhD.^[1]

Aside from his involvement in politics, he has listed his professions as being an agriculturalist, pilot and a social worker. He holds the rank of Major (retired) in the Indian Territorial Army and also has a private pilot's license.^[1]

He married in April 1995 and has one son and three daughters.^[1] His wife is Amita Singh, the widow of Syed Modi. He had been married previously.^[3]

Political career

Singh had lent support to Sanjay Gandhi when that member of the Nehru-Gandhi family had chosen to contest the Amethi constituency in the elections of 1980. The Amethi area has strong links to the Nehru-Gandhi family and at that time the neighbouring constituency of Rae Bareli was held by Sanjay's mother, Indira Gandhi. He subsequently became a friend of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Sanjay as the representative for Amethi.^[3]

His association with the Gandhi family "shot [him] into political limelight", according to The Times of India. However, Singh left the Gandhi-led Indian National Congress (INC) party in 1988 and joined Janata Dal, which was led by a relative of his first wife. Despite a general mood favouring Janata Dal, Singh's attempt to oust Rajiv Gandhi in the Indian general election, 1989 did not reflect it and he was heavily defeated by the incumbent. He later changed his allegiance to that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections he won the Amethi constituency seat.^[3][4] After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, a colleague of Gandhi in the INC, Satish Sharma, had become the Amethi representative but he neglected his constituents and caused them to flock to Singh. Although Singh stood again as the BJP candidate in the elections of 1999, on that occasion he was faced with a challenge from the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia, who played heavily on her family's contributions to the area. Singh lost.^[3][5]

He rejoined the INC in 2003, choosing to announce his move on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.^[3] He gained a second term as a member of the lower house of the Parliament of India in the elections of 2009. Since that time, he has represented the Sultanpur constituency as a member of the INC.^[1]

The Lok Sabha profile shows that he has held the following positions:^[1]

• Member, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly(two terms) 1980–1989
• Minister of State, Forests, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh 1982–1985
• Minister of Transport, Uttar Pradesh 1985–1987
• Member of the Rajya Sabha 1990
• Union Minister, Communications, 1990–1991
• Elected Member of the 12th Lok Sabha, 1998
• Member of the Committee on Human Resource Development and its sub-committee on Value Based Education 1998–1999
• Member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence 1998–1999.
• Member, Joint Committee on Offices of Profit Member, 1998–1999
• Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (second term) 2009
• Member, Committee on Rural Development. 31 August 2009
• Member, Committee on Petitions. 23 September 2009
• Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. 23 September 2009
• Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Civil Aviation. 23 September 2009

Community involvements

He has noted "games and sports" as his "favourite pastime and recreation" and that his special interests are flying, riding, shooting and swimming. As of the 15th Lok Sabha, he was President of the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Association and of the Uttar Pradesh Football Sangh, as well as Vice-President of the All India Football Federation. At that time he was also a member of clubs in Lucknow and New Delhi and was serving on the governing body of the Sports Authority of India. Other involvements included the Delhi Development Authority and the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi.^[1]

Singh has an interest in the upliftment of disadvantaged rural populations. and he founded the Rajarshi Rananjay Sinh Jan Kalyan Samiti, which operates primarily in the sphere of providing free healthcare. Since 1998, the organisation has also organised mass marriages on an annual basis, which has been described as "pioneering work ... arranging mass marriages of girls of poor people with no distinction based on caste, community, religion or class".^[1]

At various times, Singh has served as an officer or president of Aligarh Muslim University and numerous schools and colleges in Amethi. He has also been chairman of the Pradesik Co-operative Dairy Federation of Uttar Pradesh.^[1]

Syed Modi murder case

Syed Modi, a badminton player who had won numerous national and international titles, was shot dead on 28 July 1988 in Lucknow. The murder attracted worldwide attention. There were suggestions that Modi's wife, Amita, was involved in a relationship with Singh, who was a close friend of the couple and at whose house they had married. In late August, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a search of Singh's house.^[2] The investigation was urged upon the CBI by the government of Uttar Pradesh and in November 1988, Amita Modi, Singh and another politician, Akhilesh Singh, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Four others were charged with the murder itself. Subsequently, Modi, Sanjay Singh and Akilesh Singh successfully challenged the charges laid against them, resulting in the charges against Modi and Sanjay Singh being dropped in September 1990 and those against Akilesh Singh following the same course in 1996. The Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the lower courts.^[6]

References