NEW DELHI: The only representative in the Union Cabinet from the eastern state of Bihar, Meira Kumar, is the Congress party's pick for becoming the first woman speaker of the Parliament, sources said.
Water Resources Minister Meira, who is daughter of late former Deputy Prime Minister and veteran Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram. A five-time member of Parliament, Meira won from Sasaram in Bihar, while she had been elected earlier from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
She quit the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) which took her to embassies in Spain, Britain and Mauritius, to take to politics in 1985. A law graduate, Meira Kumar also holds a masters degree in English literature.
She was a Cabinet minister for social justice and empowerment in the previous Manmohan Singh government. Confirming that she would be the speaker, newly appointed Congress spokesperson Mohan Prakash told said: "It would be formalized in Parliament after the election for the speaker." Another Congress leader, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, told a television channel that the "Congress has always encouraged Dalits, women and minorities to grow."
Congress sources said party President Sonia Gandhi decided to pick 64-year-old Meira for the post preferring her over tribal leader from Andhra Pradesh V. Kishore Chandra Deo and Rajasthan's Girija Vyas. Meira, who met the Congress chief yesterday, had only two days ago taken charge as the minister for water resources in the new government.
Her chances to become the speaker brightened after party leader from Orissa and Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Srikant Jena declined to join the Council of Ministers since he was a Cabinet minister in the past.
Since the prime minister could not expand his ministry further, Meira could thus make way for Jena, the only MP from Orissa to have found representation in the government.
Asked who was expected to be her replacement, Mohan Prakash said: "This will be decided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "It could be anybody, yes it could be him," he said, in reply to a question if Jena was the candidate.
As per convention, the prime minister called up senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, offering his party the post of deputy speaker. The BJP is also toying with the idea of selecting a woman for the post. The name of Sumitra Mahajan is being considered for the post, sources said.
- With input from agencies
