Party Name : Indian National Congress
Constituency : Chandigarh
State : Chandigarh
Member Experience : Elected to Loksabha 4 time
Last Loksabha Attended : 15
Father's Name : Late Shri Piara Lal Aggarwal (Tapa Wale)
Mother's Name : Smt. Rukmani Devi
Date of birth : 16 Jul 1948
Profession : Advocate
Positions held :
1976-78 General Secretary, Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress (I)1978-82 General Secretary, Punjab Pradesh Youth Congress (I)1982 President, Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress (I)1982-83 President, Punjab Pradesh Youth Congress (I)1984-90 Member, Rajya Sabha1984-86 Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya SabhaMember, General Purposes Committee, Rajya SabhaMember, Consultative Committee Ministry of Human Resource DevelopmentMember, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Medical Council (Amendment) BillMember, Parliamentary Committee on the Structure of Pay, Allowances, Leave and Pensionary Benefits for the Officers and Staff of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats1985-87 Member, Panel of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha1986 Member, Joint Committee on Railways Bill1989-90 Whip, Congress (I) Parliamentary Party, Rajya SabhaMember, Public Accounts Committee1991 Elected to 10th Lok Sabha1992 Elected to the Executive of Congress Party in Parliament (with highest No. of votes)1992-96 Whip, Congress (I) Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha1993-96 Chairman, Joint Parliamentary Committee on 83rd Constitution Amendment Bill and Representation of People (Amendment) BillMember, Committee on CommerceMember, Business Advisory Committee, Lok SabhaMember, Committee on Rules, Lok SabhaMember, Committee on Estimates1995-96 Chairman, Committee on Communications1997-98 President, Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (2nd term)Secretary, All India Congress CommitteeMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting1999-2004 Member, Business Advisory CommitteeMember, Committee on EthicsMember, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Central Vigilance Commission Bill, 19992000-2004 Member, Standing Committee on Information Technology and CommunicationMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and BroadcastingMay 2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha (3rd term)2004-06 Member, Panel of ChairmenChief Whip, Congress Parliamentary PartyChairman, Committee of PrivilegesChairman, Select Committee of Lok Sabha to inquire into allegations against some members regarding Parliamentary QuestionsMember, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home AffairsMember, General Purposes CommitteeMember, Standing Committee on Urban DevelopmentMember, Rules CommitteeMember, Business Advisory Committee2004-2009 Treasurer, Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG)29 Jan. 2006-22 May 2009 Minister of State, Ministry of Finance (Expenditure, Banking & Insurance)6 Apr. 2008-22 May 2009 Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs13 May 2009 Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (4th term)28 May 2009 - 18 Jan 2011 Union Cabinet Minister, Parliamentary Affairs14 Jun. 2009 - 18 Jan 2011 Union Cabinet Minister, Water Resources19 Jan 2011 - 28 Oct. 2012 Union Cabinet Minister, Parliamentary Affairs19 Jan 2011-19 July 2011 Union Cabinet Minister, Science and TechnologyUnion Cabinet Minister, Earth SciencesJuly 2011 - 28 Oct. 2012 Union Cabinet Minister, Water Resources28 Oct. 2012 - 11 May 2013 Union Cabinet Minister, Railways
More Information :
Social And Cultural Activities
Organised and participated in youth festivals, Inter-State Youth camps, N.S.S. camps, medical-aid camps in rural areas, legal-aid programmes for the poor and blood donation camps; undertook padayatras in Punjab for communal harmony; organised Rajiv Gandhi Child-to-Child National Integration camps
Special Interests
Education, environment and electoral reforms
Countries Visited
Widely travelled; Member, Indian Parliamentary Delegation to (i) Zimbabwe, 1986; (ii) 83rd Inter Parliamentary Conference; Nicosia, Cyprus 1990; (iii) U.N. General Assembly, 1994; (iv) 94th Inter-Parliamentary Conference (IPC), Bucharest, Romania, 1995; (v) Wilton Park (UK) Conference on Good Governance, 2002; (vi) Parliamentary Delegation to UNCTAD - XI Sao Paulo (Brazil), 2004; (vii) First All Party M.P`s Goodwill Non-official Delegation to Pakistan 2003; (viii) Workshop on WTO (Singapore), 2004; (ix) 112th IPU at Manila, 2005 (x) Goodwill Delegation to US in September, 2008. Leader, Indian Delegation to (i) Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar, Malaysia, 1992; (ii) Third U.N. Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related Intolerance held at Durban, South Africa, 2001; (iii) SAARC Finance Ministers` Conference held in Islamabad, Pakistan, 2006; (iv) 2nd China-India Financial conference, Shanghai, May, 2008; (v) Regional Conference on Deepening Democracy held at Paro, Bhutan, 2010; (vi) Parliamentary Delegation to Istanbul, Athens & Egypt in Januaruy, 2010.
Other Information
Chairman, Research and Reference Cell, All India Congress Committee (AICC), 1985-91; Official Spokesman (AICC), 1995. Member, (i) Congress Committee on Policy and Programme 1985-91; (ii) Congress Manifesto Committee, 1990; (iii) AICC Committee to analyse 10th Lok Sabha Election results 1991; (iv) National Literacy Mission Authority; (v) Philately Advisory Committee, 1987-88; (vi) Press Council of India 2004. Convenor, (i) Sub-Committee, Congress Centenary Celebrations Committee; (ii) Congress Committee on 40th Anniversary of Independence; and (iii) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru`s Birth Centenary, 1983-89. Faculty Member, (i) Orientation Programme in Parliamentary Procedure and Practices for MPs of Khazakstan; and (ii) Indian Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Traning (BPST); President and General Secretary, Punjab University Youth Service Club, 1969-70; and General Secretary, (i) Punjab University Student` Council, 1970-71; and (ii) Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, 1978 Member, Senate (1994-96 and 1999 till date) and Syndicate (1990-92), Punjab University; The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 1984-90, 1991-96, 1999. Member, (i) 37th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, New Delhi, 1991; (ii) 89th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, New Delhi, 1993;
