Surendrajeet
Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia, the one face of a turbaned Sikh in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi, was born on 04.07.1951 at Asansol, Burdhman Distt., West Bengal. After obtaining a Law
Degree, he practiced as a Lawyer for sometime and then entered politics as member of the Indian National
Congress. He was a Member of Parliament representing Bihar and Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha for four
terms, 1986-1992, 1992-1998, 2000-2006 and 2006-2012. He remained Minister for Urban Development
and then for Parliamentary affairs in the Union Govt. headed by Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao. During his
tenure of Rajya Sabha Member, he remained member of various committees including the Committee
for the Ministry of Agriculture, Committee of Finance and Committee on Home Affairs. He was also a
member of National Monitoring Committee for Minorities education from 2004-2007. He attended
various international conferences and gave speeches. Many a times, he led the Indian Delegation (eg.
Indian Delegation at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in Windhoek, Namibia.He also remained member of various Joint Parliamentary Committees constituted for inquiring certain
important matters including the Committee to prove the irregular allocation of 2G Spectrum (2011), After
joining BJP, he remained Deputy Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha from June 2010 to May 2012.
When general elections were held in 2015 for t he 16th Lok Sabha, he contested from Darjeeling Lok Sabha Constituency in West Bengal and won the seat. In June 2015, he chaired Joint Committee of Parliament
to look into provisions of Land Acquisition Amendment Bill 2015. In July 2016, he has been inducted as
Minister of State, Agricultural and Farmer’s Welfare as well as Minister of State for Parlimentary Affairs in
the cabinet of Shri Narendra Modi. With this induction, he has become a Turbaned Sikh face of the present
Cabinet of Ministers. Apart from his successful political career, S. Ahluwalia is also a devoted Sikh. He
takes keen interest in Sikh affairs and has remained associated with the affairs of Takhat Sri Patna Sahib for
a long time. His active participation in the Country’s politics as well as Sikh affairs make him a role model
in the respective spheres.