Randeep Surjewala is a famous Indian politician. He is from the Congress Party. He is a former MLA from Haryana and also the Chief Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress (INC).
Wiki/Biography
Randeep Surjewala was born on Saturday, June 3, 1967 (age 52 years; as in 2019) in Chandigarh. His zodiac sign is Gemini. His full name is Randeep Singh Surjewala. He did his schooling from Adarsh Baal Mandir High School and Arya Senior High School in Narwana, Haryana. He then pursued a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from DAV College in Chandigarh in 1981. In 1985, he obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Panjab University, Chandigarh. In 1995, he continued his studies at Panjab University in the field of Political Science.
Randeep Surjewala in his youth
In 1988, he started practicing law at the age of 21. Initially, he worked with a law firm called “Shroff & Company.” In 1991, he started practicing in the Punjab & Haryana High Court. In 1992, he became the youngest senator of Panjab University and also a Member of the Faculty Consultative Committee at the Faculty of Law. His father was a prominent politician of the Congress Party, and he used to help his father with party activities. Randeep also helped his father rebuild the Congress in Haryana.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 10″
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Family, Caste, and Wives
Randeep Surjewala belongs to a Jat family. His father, Chaudhary Shamsher Singh Surjewala is a retired Indian politician of the Congress Party who served as an MLA in the Haryana Legislative Assembly for 5 terms and a member of parliament in 1993. His father also served as the President of the Youth Congress before independence. His mother, Vidya Surjewala is a housewife. He has 3 sisters, Madhu Dalal, Poonam Chaudhary, and Neeru (deceased).
Randeep Surjewala (right) with his father Shamsher Singh Surjewala (left)
On 26 December 1991, he was married to Gayatri (House Maid). They have two sons, Arjun (old) and Aditya.
Career
Randeep got involved in politics when he used to work with his father in the day-to-day work of the Congress Party. His father is working to rebuild the Congress Party in Haryana. Randeep soon became an active member of the Congress Party and in 1986, he was appointed as the Joint Secretary of the Haryana Youth Congress. He is the youngest Joint Secretary of the Congress Party. Eventually, he was promoted as the General Secretary of the Haryana Youth Congress. In 1993, Surjewala made his electoral debut by contesting the Haryana Assembly Election by-election from Narwana Assembly Constituency, but he did not win.
Randeep Surjewala with Sonia Gandhi
He worked in his constituency for 3 years, and in 1996, he contested the Assembly elections. He was fielded against the then Chief Minister of Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala. He became famous after his victory because winning against a sitting Chief Minister was a big achievement. In 2000, he was re-elected from the Narwana State Assembly Constituency. In March 2000, he was appointed the National President of the Indian Youth Congress, following his victory in the Haryana Legislative Assembly. He held this position till February 2005, making him the longest serving President of the Indian Youth Congress. In 2004, he was appointed Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) by Rahul Gandhi.
Randeep Surjewala with Rahul Gandhi
In December 2004, just a few months before the 2015 Haryana Assembly Elections, Surjewala was appointed as the acting Haryana Congress President. He also contested the election from Narwana State Assembly Constituency and won against the sitting Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. The Congress also won the Haryana Assembly Elections, and Surjewala was appointed as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Bhupinder Singh Hooda. During his tenure as a Cabinet Minister, he held various portfolios such as JKR, Powers, and Parliamentary Affairs. In 2009, he was re-elected as MLA from the newly formed Kaithal Assembly Constituency; following the re-delimitation of the Narwana State Assembly Constituency. He was appointed as a Cabinet Minister, and he held portfolios such as Water Supply & Sanitation, Parliamentary Affairs, Electronics & Information, Science & Technology, and JKR.
Randeep Surjewala in the rally
In 2014, he was re-elected as MLA from Kaithal Constituency of Haryana. In January 2019, Congress announced Surjewala’s name as their candidate from Haryana’s Jind Assembly by-election. Reportedly, Surjewala did not want to contest as he was a sitting MLA, but Rahul Gandhi persuaded him to contest from Jind; as he wanted a strong face to win the by-election before the 2019 Haryana Assembly Elections in October 2019. Surjewala suffered a humiliating defeat in the by-election, and he came third. He contested the 2019 Haryana Assembly Elections from Kaithal Assembly Constituency but lost to BJP’s Leela Ram.
Randeep Surjewala addressing a press conference
He was appointed as the General Secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh on 17 August 2023.
Controversy
- In October 2012, a Dalit girl from Hisar was raped. The girl’s father committed suicide after a video of her being raped was circulated by the accused. The girl stated that her father was a gardener at Surjewala’s house, but he neither spoke to the family nor visited them. He told the media that if Surjewala had been aware of the incident, the police would have worked more efficiently. However, he did not take such action, said the victim.
- In February 2016, when Surjewala was addressing a press conference, he referred to the perpetrator of the 2001 Parliament attack as “Afzal Guru” as “Afzal Guru Ji”. A video clip of Surjewala calling him “Afzal Guru Ji” went viral on social media. Afterwards, he was forced to issue an apology after he was questioned as to why he treated terrorists with such respect.
- In February 2019, after the Pulwama terror attack, Surjewala posted a tweet stating- “Pakistan has committed more than 5000 ceasefire violations, where is Narendra Modi’s 56 inch chest now?” Surjewala has been widely criticized for his tweets. People from all sections of the society criticized it and stated that instead of mourning the CRPF soldiers, the Congress is politicizing the terror attack.
Signature
Signature of Randeep Surjewala
Assets/Property
- Bank Deposit: 66.95 lacs INR
- Agricultural Land: worth 17.50 lacs INR in Narwana, Haryana
- Commercial Building: worth INR 1.63 crores
- Residential Building: worth 18 lacs INR in Chandigarh
Salary & Net Worth
- Salary: 1 lac INR + other allowances (as MLA)
- Net Worth: 4.39 crores INR (as on 2019)
Facts/Trivia
- He likes listening to Ghazal and Poetry, he also likes Trekking and camping.
- In 2015, he was appointed as the head of the AICC Communications Department by Rahul Gandhi.
Randeep Surjewala with Rahul Gandhi
- He is a close aide and advisor to Rahul Gandhi.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
