Ram Nath Kovind
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Brief biography
Here are ten facts about the Dalit leader:
1. Kovind was born October 1, 1945 at Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh.
2. He has Bachelor's degrees in Commerce and Law, both from Kanpur University.
3. The Dalit leader became a Rajya Sabha MP in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and served for two consecutive terms for 12 years until March 2006.
4. Kovind is an advocate by profession. He was a central government advocate in the Delhi high court from 1977 to 1979, and Central Government Standing Counsel in the Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993. He became the Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court in 1978. He practised in the Delhi high court and the Supreme Court for 16 years until 1993. He enrolled as an Advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi.
5. Kovind has served as member on several important Parliamentary Committees. They include: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs, Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice. He also chaired the Rajya Sabha House Committee.
6. The Bihar governor is a former president of the BJP Dalit Morcha (1998-2002) and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He has also served as national spokesperson of the party.
7. Kovind has served as a board member at Dr. B.R Ambedkar University in Lucknow and the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata.
8. He has represented India in the United Nations and addressed the United Nations General Assembly in October, 2002.
9. Kovind is married and has a son and a daughter.
10. On August 8, 2015, Kovind was appointed governor of Bihar.
Turned back from President's Shimla home: May 2017
On May 30, Kovind along with his family had returned from the gates of the Retreat.
The President visits the Retreat at least once a year, his core office shifts here during the stay.
The Retreat, located on the hilltop at Mashobra, was built in 1850 and taken over by the British viceroy in 1895.
SHIMLA: Less than a month [before he became the BJP nominee for India’s presidential election], Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind was not allowed to enter the Retreat, the official residence of the President of India in Shimla. Security personnel had told him that he did not have the requisite permissions from the President's office. And today, Kovind is the BJP-led NDA's nominee+ to become President of India.
It was on May 30 2017 that Kovind along with his family had returned from the gates of the Retreat. The day also happened to be his marriage anniversary.
Kovind had reached Shimla on May 28 and had stayed at the Raj Bhawan as Himachal Pradesh governor Acharya Devvrat is his good friend and both were appointed as governors on the same day. He was there for Devvrat's marriage anniversary on May 29 and Kovind had brought him box of mangoes from Bihar as gift.
The next day, Kovind celebrated his own marriage anniversary. As Kovind did not know what places to visit during his stay, professor Shashikant Sharma, advisor to Himachal Pradesh governor had suggested that he visit the Siog reserve forest and had also told him about the Retreat.
"I had asked him to visit Siog forest area thinking he would not have the time to visit the Retreat but later he went there on his own only to return from the gates," Sharma said. He said that the security personnel could not have known that the person they denied entry to now has the distinct possibility of returning to the same Retreat as the President of India.
The Retreat, located on the hilltop at Mashobra, was built in 1850 and taken over by the British viceroy in 1895. The President visits the Retreat at least once a year and his core office shifts here during the stay. It's a wooden structure with dhajji wall (stone-inlaid quake resistant) construction.
Top Comment
Now don't make a villain out of the Retreat security. He was rightfully doing his duty. Actually a word of praise for the security would have shown a non bias view in the article. / Rahul Barnwal
