Mallikarjun Kharge, the third Dalit President of Congress takes charge; All You Need to Know

Mallikarjun Kharge has become the Congress Party President. In the party's 138-year-old history, he is the third Dalit leader who has taken charge of the Congress Party's presidential position, whereas Damodaram Sanjivayya was the first Dalit party president. After Damodaram Sanjivayya, Jagjivan Ram became the second Dalit Congress party president in 1969.

Profile

1.MALLIKAARJUN KHARGE, Member of Parliament

• Mallikarjun, started his political journey as a student leader in Kalaburagi in Karnataka. After that, he joined hands with the Congress Party and was chosen as the President of the Gulbarga City Congress in 1969.
• He served nine nine-year terms as an MLA in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 1972 to 2009. Mallikarjun Kharge has been a parliamentarian since 2009 and he has served as a union minister, leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha and also the leader of the opposition, Rajya Sabh. He was elected as the President of the All-India Congress Committee in October 2022.
• Kharge also served as the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in 2006. whereas he was also chosen for the leadership position in the Congress Legislature Party and as the leader of the opposition party two times in Karnataka, once in 1994 and the second time in 2008.
• Mallikarjun Kharge held many critical ministerial portfolios as well. He was in Education, Revenue, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Cooperation, Industries, Infrastructure Development, Water Resources, Irrigation, Transport, and Home. His ministerial tenure benefited all segments of society.
• Shri Mallikarjun Kharge was first elected to Parliament in 20229 and he has served as Labour Minister, Minister of Railways and Social Justice and Empowerment. Mallikarjun's contribution towards the insertion of article 371J for the development of the Kalyan Karnataka Region is most well-known and appreciated in Karnataka. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014. In 2020, he was elected as a member of the upper house and was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition party in the Rajya Sabha.
• From the start of his career, his aim has always been to work for the upliftment of the people in society. His contribution was always seen towards giving equal opportunities irrespective of caste, creed, and faith. He has also helped in the development of various educational institutions in Karnataka state.
• He is a believer in Buddhist philosophy, and he has become the guiding force in building Buddha Vihara in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. It is now the largest vihara in South Asia.

First Dalit Congress Party President: DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA

• Mr.Damodaram Sanjivyya was the son of a farm labourer and he was "untouchable" by birth. The late Mohandas R. Gandhi, founder of the Congress Party, called them Harijans, or "Children of God," who predicted that one day one of them would hold India's highest office.
• When Damodaram Sanjivyya's father died, his elder brother supported his family so that Damodaram could complete his education and get his degree in 1948.
• His high-class appearance would let him go to the big cities as a high-caste Hindu, but he always chose to show his real identity as a Harijan. He served as a local Minister of Cooperatives and Housing. After that, he became the Minister of Local Administration and Labour of Andhra.
• Mr. Sanjivyaa was appointed as a Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1960 and, in 1962, he was chosen for a two-year term as President of the Indian National Congress. He became successively Minister of Labor and Unemployment, Minister of Industry, and Minister of Labor and Rehabilitation.
• Mr. Sanjivyya, in 1950, married a Harijan teacher, Krishnaveni, who was active in social work.

JAGJIVAN RAM :President 1908- 1986 (Bombay, 1969)

• Jagjivan Ram was born in Bihar in 1908 into a family which did not claim the privileges of the uppercase families. Despite the problems faced by him and his family, he has completed his studies to the first division and has joined the top college, Banaras Hindu University, where he received the Birla scholarship award.
• He completed his B.SC from Calcutta University in 1931, coming from a small background and despite the social and economic disabilities, he had completed his education which gave him a unique position in the prevailing political situation in the country. His knowledge of the socio-economic situation in the country made him a much sought-after person, both by the nationalists and the men who ruled in the provinces on behalf of the government.
• When popular rule was introduced and the scheduled castes were given representation in the legislatures, Jagjivan Ram found himself nominated to the Bihar Counsil. Although he could have found for himself a berth even among loyalists, he chose to go with the nationalists and resigned his membership on the issue of irrigation cess.
• He was elected to the assembly in 1937. In the 1940 Satyagraha and the Quit India Movement, he was an active and enthusiastic participant. He was the youngest member of the Cabinet in 1946 when he was inducted into the interim government at the Centre. He was the representative of the scheduled caste. He was a dutiful Congressman who looked to earnestly implement the programmes of the party.
• His political career was conspicuously successful. At the time of the split in the Congress Party in 1969, Jagjivan Ram found himself in the camp led by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. He had not only become the president of Mrs. Gandhi's separate congress at the time, but he had also earned a virtual No. 2 ranking in the cabinet when he was appointed as Defense Minister in 1970.
• Jagjivan Ram went to the Janata Party with Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister in 1977. At that time, he was once again given the Defense portfolio. The Congress (I) again came back to power in 1980. Jagjivan Ram was disillusioned with the Janta Party, and he had made his own party, the Congress (J). His uninterrupted representation in Parliament from 1936 to 1986 is a world record.