Birender Singh (politician, born 1946)

Chaudhary Birender Singh
Minister of Rural Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 November 2014
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Nitin Gadkari
Minister of Panchayati Raj
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 November 2014
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Nitin Gadkari
Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 November 2014
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Nitin Gadkari
Personal details
Born	(1946-03-25) 25 March 1946
Political party	Bhartiya Janta Party (16 August 2016 - Present)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (before 2014)
Spouse	Premlata Singh

Chaudhary Birender Singh (born 25 March 1946) is a senior Indian political leader. He is currently serving as the Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Sanitation & Drinking Water in the Narendra Modi led NDA Government in India. His wife Smt. PremLata Singh is also a member of the legislative assembly of Haryana representing Uchana Kalan constituency. Birender Singh is the grandson of great peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram. His father Ch. Neki Ram was a politician in joint Punjab. He has been a long-time aspirant to the post of Chief Minister of Haryana. After being associated with the Indian National Congress for over 42 long years, Ch. Birender Singh declared joining the Bharatiya Janata Party on 16 August 2014 in a political rally organised in Jind, Haryana in the presence of President of the BJP, Amit Shah. Birender Singh joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 29 August 2014, after tendering his resignation from the membership of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India on 28 August 2014.

Early life

Singh comes from a socially, politically and economically influential family. His grandfather Sir Chhotu Ram was an iconic Jat and Peasent leader in India and Pakistan. He graduated from Government College Rohtak and completed his law degree at Panjab University, Chandigarh. During this development, Singh was active in sports, captaining the distt. Jind cricket team 1964–67 and playing with Punjab University Team (1969–70).

Political life

Birender Singh contested his first election in 1972 & from 1972–77, he was the Chairman, Block Samiti Uchana. He contested the assembly election in 1977 from uchana on Indian National Congress ticket and won the seat with a sizeable margin, despite strong anti-congress wave in the country. This made him a star political figure in India overnight.

Birender Singh has been a five times legislator for Haryana from Uchana constituency (1977–82, 1982–84, 1994–96, 1996-2000 and 2005–09) and saved three terms a cabinet minister in Haryana.

Ch. Birender Singh has also served the country as a Parliamentarian for 2 terms. In 1984, Ch. Birender Singh was elected as Member of Parliament (Lok Shabha) from Hissar Constituency, after defeating Om Prakash Chautala by a gaint margin. In 2010, Birender Singh was elected as Congress MP Rajya Sabha from Haryana for a 6 years term (2010–16), but he resigned on 28 August 2014 owing to end of his 42 years old association with Indian National Congress.

On 29 August 2014, Birender Singh joined Bharatiya Janata Party. On 9th, November 2014, Ch. Birender Singh took oath as a Cabinet Minister, Govt. Of India. He was given the charge of the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, which were earlier with Nitin Gadkari.

Positions held

Singh has held numerous key positions. He was Chairman, Govt. Assurances Committee (1978–79) and Chairman, Estimates Committee (1981–82), Haryana.

He has also served on the Estimates Committee (1985–87) & Consultative Committee for ministry of Defense (1987–89) and Consultative Committee for Ministry of Energy (1987–91), Government of India.

Birender Singh served the chairman, Standing Committee of Parliament on Human Resource, Women & Child Development, Youth & Sports ministry from Sept 2013 to April 2014.

On the political front, Birender Singh has been entrusted with many key responsibilities. He was made the President of HPCC in 1990 and led congress to a landslide victory in 1991. In 2014, he was made the general secretary of AICC in charge of poll-bound states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi. Ch. Birender Singh led the party to victory in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh elections, which were fought under his guidance.

As of today, Ch. Birender Singh is a cabinet minister (Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation) in the Narendra Modi Government.