Meenakashi Lekhi | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of State for External Affairs | |
| In office 7 July 2021 – 11 June 2024 Serving with V. Muraleedharan & Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | S. Jaishankar |
| Succeeded by | Pabitra Margherita |
| Minister of State for Culture | |
| In office 7 July 2021 – 11 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | G. Kishan Reddy |
| Preceded by | Prahlad Singh Patel |
| Succeeded by | Rao Inderjit Singh |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 5 June 2014 – 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Ajay Maken |
| Succeeded by | Bansuri Swaraj |
| Constituency | New Delhi |
| Chairperson of Public Undertakings Committee | |
| In office 30 October 2019 – 13 August 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Shanta Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Santosh Gangwar |
| Chairperson of Parliamentary Privileges Committee | |
| In office 20 July 2016 – 29 October 2019 | |
| Preceded by | S. S. Ahluwalia |
| Succeeded by | Harivansh Narayan Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 April 1967 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Aman Lekhi |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Faculty of Law, University of Delhi |
| Occupation |
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Meenakshi Lekhi (born 30 April 1967) is an Indian politician who served as the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India from 7 July 2021 till 10 June 2024. She was a Member of Parliament from New Delhi Parliamentary constituency in the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party.[1] She is also a lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.
She won the high-profile New Delhi parliamentary constituency as a BJP candidate in the 2014 elections and was re-elected in 2019.[2] In July 2016, she was appointed as chairperson of the Committee on Privileges of the Lok Sabha in Parliament.[3] On 26 July 2019, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla appointed Lekhi as a chairperson of parliamentary committee on Public Undertakings[4] and is continuing since then in that position.
Besides writing articles in journals, periodicals and newspapers on socio-political issues, she participates in various television shows on matters on national and international importance. Lekhi writes 'Forthwrite',[5] a fortnightly column in The Week magazine. With her equal command over English and Hindi, she comes as a good debater in the parliament where she has participated in numerous debates on matters of national importance in the Lok Sabha, such as debates on "intolerance" in India[6] and the Triple Talaq Bill.[7] She has also distinguished herself as an active participant in the various parliamentary processes and was awarded with the "Best Debut Women Parliamentarian" award by Lokmat in 2017.[8]
- ^ /Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4717
- ^ "Election Commission of India". Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi appointed chairperson of Lok Sabha privileges committee". The Indian Express. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ "दो कमेटियों का गठनः कांग्रेसी चौधरी एक के तो दूसरे की लेखी अध्यक्ष". Jansatta (in Hindi). 26 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Meenakshi Lekhi". The Week.
- ^ "Intolerance debate: Cong banned books to protect image of dynasty, says Meenakshi Lekhi" on Firstpost, 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Triple Talaq Debate: Muslim women should not worry when they have a brother like PM Modi, says BJP". www.indiatvnews.com. 28 December 2017.
- ^ "lokmat award for best RS, lS lawmakers" on the pioneer, 20 July 2017.