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Sanjay Singh (AAP politician)

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Sanjay Singh
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
28 January 2018
ChairmanVenkaiah Naidu (2018–2022)
Jagdeep Dhankhar (2022–)
Preceded byKaran Singh
ConstituencyDelhi
Personal details
Born (1972-03-22) 22 March 1972 (age 52)
Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political partyAam Aadmi Party (AAP)
Other political
affiliations
Samajwadi Party (until 2007)
SpouseAnita Singh
Children2
EducationDiploma in Mining Engineering
Profession
  • Politician
  • activist
Websitesanjaysingh.org.in

Sanjay Singh (born 22 March 1972) is an Indian politician, activist, national spokesman for Aam Aadmi Party, a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi. He was convicted in a 2001 protest case and was later given bail.[1] In October 2023, he was arrested by Enforcement Directorate on allegations of bribery and liquor scam. After 6 months of custody, he was released on bail by Supreme Court.[2] The court castigated the police that nothing was recovered.[3] He was the first to be bailed out, out of several AAP leaders who were arrested, such as Satyendra Jain, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal. The order became a case study in legal circles on how the court evaded directly ruling against the central government.[4]

He was active with Arvind Kejriwal in his campaigns from the Right To Information campaign in 2006 to the IAC movement led by social activist Anna Hazare.

Career

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Activism

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He formed the Azad Samaj Seva Samiti in Lucknow in 1994. He claims to have worked towards providing employment opportunities to the poor.

He has been a fellow companion of socialist leader Raghu Thakur of the Democratic Socialist Party and participated in various welfare and socialist conferences and movements along with him. Singh also proffered his services for disaster relief operations in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Nepal.

Aam Aadmi Party

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Singh is a founder member of Aam Aadmi Party. During Delhi 2020 elections he was made the campaign in-charge along with Pankaj Gupta who was made the campaign director.[5]

Career as MP

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In January 2018, Singh was elected as a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Delhi.[6]

His career as an MP has been marked with several controversies often due to his penchant for creating a nuisance or due to his convictions and court cases. On the passing of the 2020 Indian agriculture acts in the Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Singh along with seven other members were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for their unruly behavior in the house for tearing documents, breaking mics and heckling the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.[7][8] Three years later, in 2023, he was again suspended from Rajya Sabha for entire monsoon session by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar due to 'repeatedly violating the directions of the chair'.[9]

Singh raised concerns related to child deaths, child trafficking, stringent punishments for sexual abuse of children amongst others in parliament. He was felicitated with the PGC Award by UNICEF India in 2020 for his efforts.[10]

Singh was elected again as a Member of Parliament in January 2024.[11]

Cases

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In 2016, he accused Bikram Singh Majithia, the then Revenue Minister for Punjab, for being a "drug dealer".[12] In turn, Majithia filed a defamation suit against him, Arvind Kejriwal and Ashish Khetan.[13] Later, AAP president Arvind Kejriwal apologised to Majithia for his party's slander against him.[14] As of 2022, Singh admitted in the court that he stands by his statement.[12]

In 2019, he received a notice from Ahmedabad Court for his allegations during the Rafale deal controversy.[15] In 2017, Singh was slapped by a woman worker of the AAP as the party did not allow her to raise a voice against corruption during ticket distribution.[16]

In January 2023, a special court in Sultanpur of Uttar Pradesh convicted him and sentenced 3 months of jail term in a 2001 case. He is currently out on bail.[17]

Delhi Liquor Scam

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He is also an accomplice in the Delhi Liquor scam alongside Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal. He has been named in the chargesheet filed by ED in the court.[18] In October 2023, he was arrested by the ED for the scam, was lodged in Tihar Jail and was given a bail in April 2024.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "AAP MP Sanjay Singh convicted in 2001 protest case, later granted bail". Express News Service. The Indian Express. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  2. ^ Livemint (2 April 2024). "Sanjay Singh bail: SC slams ED, 'Nothing has been recovered…'". mint. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Sanjay Singh bail: Supreme Court slams ED, 'Nothing has been recovered…'".
  4. ^ "Sanjay Singh's Bail: Judicial Evasion by Non-Order?".
  5. ^ "AAP appoints Sanjay Singh in-charge for Delhi assembly polls, Pankaj Gupta is campaign director". The Indian Express. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Rajya Sabha: AAP makes an entry into Rajya Sabha with three MPS | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Derek O'Brien, 7 other Opposition MPS suspended over Rajya Sabha ruckus on farm bills". 21 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Motion seeking suspension of MPS, who intimidated deputy chair Harivansh, likely in Rajya Sabha tomorrow".
  9. ^ "AAP MP Sanjay Singh suspended from Rajya Sabha for entire monsoon session". mint. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  10. ^ "9 MPs receive awards for their role in Parliament in advancing child rights: UNICEF".
  11. ^ "Jailed AAP leader Sanjay Singh takes oath as Rajya Sabha MP for 2nd term". The Indian Express. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Defamation case: AAP MP Sanjay Singh says he stands by statement against Majithia". The Indian Express. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Majithia files defamation suit against Kejriwal, two others".
  14. ^ "Kejriwal Apologises to Bikram Majithia as Defamation Cases Take a Toll on AAP, Arun Jaitley Next?". 15 March 2018.
  15. ^ "AAP leader Sanjay Singh receives court notice in a defamation case over his allegations in Rafale deal". The Indian Express. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  16. ^ "AAP's Sanjay Singh Slapped By Woman Party Worker During Roadshow". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  17. ^ "AAP MP Sanjay Singh Gets 3 Months In Jail Over 2001 Protest In UP Town". NDTV.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  18. ^ "AAP's Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, KCR daughter named in ED chargesheet in liquor policy case". The Indian Express. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  19. ^ "AAP MP Sanjay Singh walks out of jail, says time to give a reply to BJP". The Tribune. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
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Rajya Sabha
Preceded by
?
Member of Parliament
in Rajya Sabha for Delhi

28 January 2018 –
Incumbent
Aam Aadmi Party political offices
New political party Member of Political Affairs Committee of AAP
2012 – present
Incumbent
New political party Member of National Executive Committee of AAP
? – present
Incumbent