Giriraj Singh is an Indian politician from Bihar. He served in the Narendra Modi government as the Union Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.
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Wiki/Biography
Giriraj Singh was born on 8 September 1952 (age 72 years; as of 2024) in Barahiya, Lakhisarai District, Bihar. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He did his schooling from a government school of Barahiya village, Bihar. He pursued Bachelors in Arts from Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar in 1971. He was a social worker before getting into politics. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and worked as a volunteer with them. He always had been interested in farming and rearing cattle and keeps taking steps to ensure better living conditions for animals. He has also submitted a research paper on the animal feed based on Morning Biomass with the help of scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Physical Appearance
Height: 6′
Weight: 80 kg (approx)
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Grey
Family, Wife & Caste
Giriraj Singh belongs to a Bhumihar Brahmin Family. He was born to Ramavtaar Singh and Tara Devi. He has a brother, Jairaj Singh. Not much is known about his family. He is married to Uma Sinha (retired teacher). They have a daughter together.
Political Career
Giriraj Singh was elected as an MLC to the Bihar Legislative Council in the year 2002. In the year 2005, he was appointed as the Co-operative Minister of Bihar in the Nitish Kumar government. In 2010, Singh was appointed as the Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Resource Development of Bihar. In June 2013, he was removed from the post of Minister of Animal Husbandry as Janata Dal-United (JDU) broke off its alliance with the BJP. 11 members of the BJP were removed from ministerial posts after the alliance broke off.
In 2013, the BJP announced his name as its candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Nawada Constituency of Bihar. Giriraj Singh was not happy about his name being announced from Nawada; as he wanted to contest from Begusarai. He won the election and was elected as an MP from Nawada, Bihar. On 4 September 2017, he was appointed as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
In 2018, BJP announced Giriraj Singh’s name as the Lok Sabha candidate from the Begusarai Constituency of Bihar. He was set to contest against Kanhaiya Kumar. Giriraj won the election with a margin of 4.20 Lakh votes. He was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha and was also inducted as a Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi government.
He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Begusarai constituency in Bihar and won by defeating his rival, CPI’s Awdhesh Rai, by 81,480 votes.
Controversies
- While campaigning before the 2014 General Elections, Singh said in a rally that everyone who opposes Narendra Modi should be sent to Pakistan as they do not belong in India. He was asked to refrain from giving such statements in the future by the BJP.
- Giriraj filed a police complaint of theft in his house on 8 July 2014. He reported a theft of cash, jewellery and other assets worth Rs. 50,000. The police caught the burglar and recovered jewellery, cash, and other luxury items worth Rs. 1.14 Crores. This raised a lot of questions as according to the affidavit submitted by him to the Election Commission, he declared cash and jewellery worth Rs.1.14 Lacs. Several leaders in the Bihar Assembly raised concerns over this and demanded an enquiry and suspension of Giriraj Singh.
- He stirred up a big controversy on 30 March 2015 when a video of him in an enclosed environment with his friends surfaced online. He received a lot of flak for his statement. He was accused of being racist and sexist. Giriraj Singh had to apologize in the parliament after the issue had blown up. The Congress demanded his resignation and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the video, he was seen saying-
If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian lady and not a white-skinned woman, then would the Congress have accepted her leadership?”
- In April 2016, he stated that the population control is a big issue and steps should be taken towards it. He said that people from all religions should have the same number of kids to curb population. In October 2016, he said that that the Muslim population is growing rapidly in India and Hindus should have more kids to tackle this problem. He said that the Muslim population growing rapidly was a threat to India and had to be dealt with.
- On 4 June 2019, Nitish Kumar had organized an Iftar party in a Mosque. Giriraj Singh tweeted about the Iftar party stating-
कितनी खूबसूरत तस्वीर होती जब इतनी ही चाहत से नवरात्रि पे फलाहार का आयोजन करते और सुंदर सुदंर फ़ोटो आते??…अपने कर्म धर्म मे हम पिछड़ क्यों जाते और दिखावा में आगे रहते है??? pic.twitter.com/dy7s1UgBgy
— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) June 4, 2019
- In September 2024, he made headlines for stating that all mosques, constructed illegally in India, must be demolished by the government. He further revealed that there was a plan in motion to let Muslims get settled in the Hindu-majority areas. [1]ABP News
Car Collection
Giriraj Singh owns a Mahindra E20 Electric Car (2016 Model) and a Tata Nano (2012 Model)
Assets & Properties
Movable Assets: Rs. 81.36 Lacs
Cash: Rs. 1.74 Lacs
Bank Deposits: Rs. 67.92 Lacs
Jewellery: 15 gm Gold worth Rs. 20,000
Properties: Rs. 5.87 Crores
Agricultural land worth Rs. 5 Crores
Residential building in Barahiya village, Bihar worth Rs. 30 Lacs
Residential building in Anandpuri, Bihar worth Rs. 20 Lacs
3 other buildings worth Rs. 37 Lacs
Salary & Net Worth
Salary: Rs. 1 Lac + Additional Allowances
Net Worth: Rs. Rs. 8.30 Crores (as in 2019)
Facts
- In 2013, Giriraj Singh’s name was announced as the Lok Sabha candidate for the 2014 General Elections from Nawada, Bihar. He reportedly went to Rajnath Singh’s home crying and begging him to change his ticket from the Nawada Constituency of Bihar to Begusarai, Bihar. Rajnath Singh did not change his decision and Giriraj ended up winning from that seat.
- He has often made controversial statements which cause embarrassment to the BJP. Although he has been warned several times by the BJP leadership and Amit Shah, he continues to make such statements.