Ravi Shankar Prasad is an Indian politician and lawyer, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. A Member of Parliament since 2000, first in the Rajya Sabha and then in the Lok Sabha, Prasad has served as Union.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession(s) | Politician, Lawyer |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 173 cm in meters– 1.73 m in feet inches– 5’ 8” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms– 80 kg in pounds– 175 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Politics | |
| Political Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Political Journey | 1995: Became a member of National Executive Committee, Bharatiya Janata Party 2000: Elected to the Rajya Sabha 2001: Became a member of National Convener Legal Cell, BJP 2001: Became the Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines 2002: Became the Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice 2003: Became the Minister of State of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge) 2005: Elected as the National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party 2006: Elected to the Rajya Sabha again 2006: Became a member of Consultative Committee for Ministry of External Affairs 2009: Became the member of Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Finance 2010: Elected as the All India General Secretary & Chief National Spokesperson of BJP 2012: Elected to the Rajya Sabha 2012: Chosen as the Deputy Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha 2014: Minister of Law & Justice and Minister of Telecom & IT 2016: Took oath as Union Minister for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India 2019: In the Lok Sabha Elections, he defeated Congress’ Shatrughan Sinha by a margin of 2,78,198 ballots from the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar 2021: Resigned from Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle on 7 July |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 30 August 1954 |
| Age (As of 2024) | 69 Years of 2024 |
| Birthplace | Patna, Bihar, India |
| Zodiac sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Patna, Bihar, India |
| School | Not Known |
| College/University | Patna University |
| Educational Qualification(s) | • BA Honours • MA (Political Science) • LL.B degree |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Kayastha |
| Address | 21, Mother Teresa Crescent, New Delhi |
| Hobbies | Reading |
| Controversies | • In 2005, Prasad was shot at by an unidentified man; the man invaded the podium where Ravi Shankar Prasad was sitting along with other members of BJP when a bullet penetrated through his left arm triggered by the unidentified man. The man was later identified as Munna Rai, he was beaten up by BJP supporters following his attempt to assassinate Prasad. Despite the severe bullet injury, Prasad was declared out of danger by the doctors. • In April 2017, Ravi Shankar Prasad was caught in a controversy when he claimed that Muslim community does not give votes to BJP, despite all the “proper sanctity” BJP provides them. “We have got 13 chief ministers of our own. We are ruling the country. Have we victimised any Muslim gentleman working in the industry or service? Have we dismissed them? We don’t get Muslim votes. I acknowledge very clearly, but have we given them proper sanctity or not?” Prasad stated in an interview. |
| Girls, Affairs and More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Marriage Date | February 3, 1982 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Maya Shankar (Professor of History at Patna University, Historian) |
| Children | Son– Aditya Daughter– Aditi |
| Parents | Father– Thakur Prasad (Rtd. Senior Advocate of Patna High Court, Politician) Mother– Bimla Prasad |
| Siblings | Brother– None Sister(s)– Pratibha, Anurradha Prasad (Managing Director of News 24) |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car(s) Collection | • Toyota Fortuner SUV, Model (DEL4CNE5118) • Honda Accord Car (DL4CAH3759) • Scorpio SUV (BR01PC3636) • Honda City Car (BR01CW0222) |
| Assets/Properties | Bank Fixed Deposits: ₹8 Crore Bonds, Debentures, Shares: ₹8 Crore Jewellery: ₹17 Lakhs Total Value: ₹18 Crore (as in 2014) |
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth (approx.) | INR 18 Crore (as of 2014) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Ravi Shankar Prasad
- He was always a leader since his childhood, he was the Assistant General Secretary of the Students Union and member of the Senate, Arts and Law Faculties, and Finance Committee of the Patna University.
- He developed an interest in law from his father; as he was a lawyer at Patna High Court and the former president of Bharatiya Jan Sangh (RSS).
- He used to participate in Hindi and English debate competitions in his college and bagged many accolades on the State and National level debate competitions.
- He was an active member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) since his student life, he protested against Indira Gandhi‘s Government and was put behind the bars during the emergency (1975), imposed by Indira Gandhi.
- In 1980, he started practising at the Patna High Court.
- In 1999, he got the designations of ‘senior advocate’ at the Patna High Court, and in 2000, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India.
- In the Fodder Scam, the then Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was exposed, Ravi Shankar Prasad who was a lawyer then, played an important role in arguing PIL against him.
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- He represented ‘Ram Lalla’, the deity, in Ayodhya Ram temple suitcase as a lawyer.
- He also worked as an activist of Human Right and Civil Liberty.
- When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India, Prasad was given the following charges; Minister of State in the of Ministry of Law and Justice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Ministry of Coal and Mines (2001-2003). During his tenure, he incepted the venture capital investment and good marketing of Indian Films, reforms in the Radio, and Television.
- In April 2002, he was sent to Durban (South Africa) as the leader of Indian Delegation for the Non-Aligned Ministerial meet.
- He led the Indian Delegation as the leader in the Commonwealth Law Minister Summit in St. Vincent (West Indies).
- He took the Indian delegation to Film Festivals in London, Venice, and Cannes.
- In October 2006, he represented India at UNO in 61st UN General Assembly in New York.
- Some major works done by him while holding these posts were; taking initiatives to ensure speedy justice to people, responsible for amending the Representation of People’s Act to mitigate criminalisation of Politics, promoted e-commerce in India, established an $18 billion programme for bringing ‘digital revolution’ to expand broadband internet reaching about 250,000 villages by 2016, etc.
- He was a member of the Jansangh in Bihar and was the President of the party for 10 years.