Ajay Bhatt is an Indian politician who serves as Minister of State in the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Tourism in the second Modi Ministry. He is also a member of the Lok Sabha from Nainital-Udamsingh Nagar.
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Wiki/Biography
Ajay Bhatt was born on Monday, 1 May 1961 (age 60; as of 2021), in Raniket, Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand). His zodiac sign is Taurus. At an early age, he lost his father, and because of this, he had to overcome the efforts of an adult. From childhood he was associated with the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He holds BA LLB from Founder College, Kumaun University Almora (1984). During his college days, he was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 9″
Eye Color: Black
Hair color: black
family and caste
He belongs to a Brahmin family from the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
parents and siblings
Father’s name is Kamalapati Bhatt and mother’s name is Tulsi Devi Bhatt.
wife and children
He married on 28 February 1986 Pushpa Bhatt, a former judge and advocate general of the Uttarakhand High Court, Nainital. He has three daughters and one son.
other relatives
His nephew Leeladhar Bhatt is also a politician and a member of the Indian National Congress. His other nephew, Tarun Bhatt, is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Career
After graduation, he continued his career as a lawyer. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has been active in politics since 1980. In 1985, he became the district head of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and BJP Executive Council in Uttarakhand. He was soon appointed as the BJP Uttarakhand state president. Considered as one of the senior BJP leaders in Uttarakhand, he has held several portfolios in the Government of Uttarakhand ministries. In the 1996 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, he contested from the Raniket constituency and won by a margin of 30,241 over Ranjeet Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC). From 1996 to 2000, he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee and CPA in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh. Concurrently, he also chaired the Committee on Privileges in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh. From 2001 to 2002, he served as a Cabinet Minister, holding the Ministries of Parliamentary Affairs, Health and Disaster Management in the Government of Uttarakhand. As the Minister of Health banned the private practice of state doctors. As a state legislator from Uttar Pradesh, he traveled to Canada, Australia, England, Thailand and the United States. In the 2002 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly election, which was the state’s first Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) election, Ajay Bhatt was re-elected from Raniket by 10,199 votes against INC leader Puran Singh. He then contested the 2007 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly elections from Raniket and lost to INC leader Karan Mahara. From 2009 to 2011, he was the Chairman of the National Rural Health Mission in the Government of Uttarakhand. In the 2012 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly elections, Ajay Bhatt contested from Ranikhet constituency against Karan Mahara and won by 14,089 votes. His slogan for his election campaign was:
Sabki ek hi ratt..Ajay Bhatt..Ajay Bhatt”
In the 3rd Uttarakhand Assembly (2012 to 2017), he served as the Leader of the Opposition. While he was the leader of the opposition, he was again appointed as the BJP Uttarakhand president in 2015.
Senior BJP leaders in Uttarakhand present a bouquet to Ajay Bhatt after he was appointed as the BJP Uttarakhand President.
In the 2019 Indian general election in Uttarakhand, he contested Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar against INC leader and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat and won by 3,39,096 votes.
Ajay Bhatt during his campaign rally in Nainital for the 2019 Indian General Elections
He assumed his post as a member of the Lok Sabha on 23 May 2019. From September 2019 to July 2021, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Defense and Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Parliament of India. He was a member of the Subordinate Legislation Committee in October 2019, the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill in December 2019 and the Estimates Committee in the Indian Parliament in May 2020. During the cabinet reshuffle in 2021, he was appointed Minister of Tourism and Minister of Defense.
Ajay Bhatt was sitting in his office as the Minister of State for Defence
On 22 July 2021, Ajay Bhatt introduced the Basic Defense Services Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha. The bill allows the central government to ban strikes, lockouts and layoffs in units engaged in essential defense services. On 3 August 2021, the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and on 5 August 2021, the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, amid opposition protests and sloganeering over the Pegasus surveillance controversy and issues of farm laws and price hikes.
A still from Lok Sabha TV showing Ajay Bhatt introducing the Basic Defense Services Bill, 2021
confrontations
- In June 2020, Ajay Bhatt made a statement saying that the Governing Council of Uttarakhand Char Dam Devasthanam should be dissolved. After his announcement, the opposition leader criticized him for deceiving the public, as a decision on the council should have been made either in the High Court or in the Legislative Assembly.
- In July 2019, Ajay Bhatt reported that women could avoid caesarean sections if they drank water from the Garur Ganga, a river in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand. He even claimed that stones from the river can cure snakebites or other venomous animals and save lives. In his speech in the Lok Sabha, he said:
Someone from Kakdighat, where Swami Vivekananda meditated, told me that he was afraid to enter the house because a snake was trapped in a rat trap. The family was afraid of snake bites. I told them that their village saint has a stone from the bank of Garur Ganga river and they should bring it home. In a few minutes, the snake, which was trapped in their house for more than a week, came out.”
He added,
Apply Gauri Ganga to the stone, mix it with water and give it to the patient. There will be no need for caesarean section.”
His statement was criticized by several doctors and opposition leaders, who pointed out that if such a thing were possible, there would be no need for doctors in the country. After receiving backlash for his statements in the Lok Sabha, Bhatt demanded a scientific study to verify his claims.
- In August 2016, then BJP Uttarakhand president Ajay Bhatt made remarks at the Congress saying that Himalayan priests could not recite mantras without taking liquor. In response to his remarks, the then Uttarakhand Congress chief Kishore Upadhyaya issued a media release accusing Bhatt of hurting people’s sentiments. Upadhyay wrote,
Since time immemorial, the people of the region have shared a bond of brotherhood without any discrimination, but such comments not only hurt a particular caste but also create differences between people. This was not what we were fighting for a separate state. Bhatt does not deserve to remain in a key position after this controversial statement that reflects his mindset.”
Another state Congress leader, Mathura Dutt, criticized Bhatt, saying:
It is not about the vote bank, our election campaign will be about the work done by our party. The BJP has a reputation for creating differences among people for political gain, which was reaffirmed by Bhatt’s statement.
Address
Permanent: 784, Gandhi Chowk Sadar Bazar, Ranikhet, Almora-263645, (Uttarakhand)
Current: 301, Kaveri Flat, Dr BD Marg, New Delhi-110001
signature
Ajay Bhatt’s signature
salary
His salary for the financial year 2017-18, as per the 2019 Lok Sabha election confirmation, is Rs.500. 5.53 GEL (approx.).
Assets and Net Worth
Ajay Bhatt’s floating assets (as of 2019) are around Rs. 1.56 million. His real estate (as of 2019), including agricultural and non-agricultural land, is about 300 GEL. 40.44 GEL. His net worth (as of 2019) amounts to GEL. 1.97 million (approx).
Facts/Trivia
- He has interest in reading, writing and engaging in debating. He likes to read literature, newspapers, history books and spiritual books like Ramayana and Vedas.
- Ajay is a member of Nagrik Surakshya Parishad, Rashtriya Gramothan Parishad and Utranchal Harijan Shilp Kala Uttan. He is also the President of Raniketi Cooperative Drug Factory.
- It is part of the Ranikhet Club in Ranikhet and the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.
- Whenever there was a transition for the post of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Ajay’s name topped the list of CM candidates. First when Tirath Singh Rawat replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat and later when Pushkar Singh Dhami replaced Tirath.
- Ajay Bhatt got his inspiration for being in politics from senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Murli Manohar Joshi.
- He took an active part in the struggle for statehood of Uttarakhand and in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was a member of the Uttaranchal Samyukt Sangarsh Samiti. He was arrested once during the struggle for Uttarakhand statehood and twice during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
- In November 2019, he adopted a village called Jangalia Gaon near Bhimtal in Uttarakhand under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. The scheme was initiated so that Members of Parliament would select a village from their constituencies and make it a model village. Almost a year later, there was a media report stating that Jangalia Gaon is still suffering from lack of basic needs like roads, health, education and drinking water.
- In December 2020, he tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), New Delhi.
- According to his election affidavit for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he owns a Swift Dezire.
Categories: Sports
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
