Selja Kumari

Selja Kumari (born 24 September 1962) is an Indian politician and a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and has served as the union minister of state (independent charge) for social justice and empowerment and tourism during Manmohan Singh's premiership.

Selja was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 from Sirsa, a constituency that she retained in the 1996 elections. Following her election in 2009 to the Lok Sabha from Ambala, she was appointed the minister of social justice and empowerment. Selja unsuccessfully contested the general elections in 2019 from Ambala, and following that made a return to state politics, being elected the president of the Haryana unit of the Congress party later that year.

She was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2014 to 2020. In the 2024 Indian general election, she was elected to the Lok Sabha again from the Sirsa constituency.

Early life and education Selja Kumari was born in a chamar/ravidassia family on 24 September 1962 in Parbhuwala Hisar to Dalbir Singh, who was a politician from the Indian National Congress. She studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi and later attended the Panjab University, where she completed her master's which is a postgraduate degree.

Selja began actively participating in international conferences and summits following her election to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004. She was elected as a member of the governing board of Commonwealth Local Government Forum in 2005. She continued to engage with other such organisations as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and also headed the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Human Settlements.

In March 2011, Selja was issued notices by the Punjab and Haryana High Court over a petition that has accused her of "forgery, criminal intimidation, fabrication and hatching a criminal conspiracy". The petitioner, advocate B S Chahar, has alleged that Selja, who was "instrumental in instigating leaders and members of the Balmiki community against Jat leaders in Mirchpur case", tried to save herself from a litigation by pressurising the undertrials and forcing them to sign "blank and non judicial papers".

Selja later took oath as Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2012. She remained in office for five years until the completion of her term in May 2014, a period during which she worked on issues relating to empowerment of women and rights of marginalised communities.

Move to Rajya Sabha and beyond (2014–present) Selja was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, from her home state of Haryana in 2014. She unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Indian general elections from Ambala, losing out to Bhartiya Janata Party's Rattan Lal Kataria. Following that, she expressed a renewed interest in the politics of the state and was appointed the president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee in September 2019, just ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for October.

In the 2024 General Elections, Kumari Selja has been nominated by Indian National Congress to contest Lok Sabha election from Sirsa - SC parliamentary constituency.

Positions held + Positions Held Period Position 14 Aug. 2024 onwards Member of the Committee on Estimates June 2024 Elected to 18th Lok Sabha 01-Dec-2022 - 2023 General Secretary, AICC. Incharge 06-Oct-2022 onwards Member, Congress Steering Committee 01-Jun-2022 onwards Member, Congress Working Committee 12-Sep-2019 - 2022 President, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee 10-Sep-2014 - 2020 Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture 10-Apr-2014 - 2020 Elected Member 31 Jan. 2014 Ceased to be a member of the Lok Sabha upon election as Member of Rajya Sabha 28-Oct-2012 - 28-Jan-2014 Union Cabinet Minister, Social Justice and Empowerment 31-May-2009 - 18-Jan-2011 Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Ministry of Tourism 2009 Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (4th term) 2007-2009 Elected President of 21st Governing Council of UN Habitat for a two year term 2005 Elected Member of the Governing Board of Commonwealth Local Government Forum June 2006 Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation 2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha (3rd term) 1996-2004 Secretary and spokesperson, All India Congress Committee 1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (2nd term) Sept. 1995-May 1996 Union Minister of State, Department of Education and Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development July 1992-Sept. 1995 Union Deputy Minister, Dept. of Education & Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development 1991 Elected to 10th Lok Sabha 1990 Joint Secretary, All India Mahila Congress