Non-matric MPs in 16th Lok Sabha

New Delhi: A Lok Sabha MP represents the people of his or her constituency in the lower house of the parliament. In a country like India where the people living in the interiors are yet to get the benefit of either studying in schools or moving beyond school education, it's very natural that some of the politicians representing them would also be like them. In a democracy, good educational qualification is not mandatory although it's expected from the people's representatives that they are educated enough to understand the broader aspects of legal points because they are also mandated to legislate in the parliament.Recently, Smriti Irani was in the line of fire of the Congress because the party wondered how could she be allowed to head a crucial ministry like HRD when she was not even a graduate. Whether a cabinet minister should be graduate or not is a separate debate but what can't be overlooked is the fact that 16th Lok Sabha also consists of members who have not even matriculated (i.e. not studied up to Std X).A closer look at the educational qualifications of MPs of 16th Lokk Sabha reveales that around 10% of the members are not even matriculated . The union cabinet has a member like Uma Bharti who studied till Std 6 only. On one hand we have highly educated MPs like Shashi Tharoor and Harsh Vardhan in the current Lok Sabha but on the other hand we also have a cabinet minister like Uma Bharti who did his schooling till Std 6 only. This is not surprising given the fact that the school dropout rate is almost 40% as far as primary education in India is concerned.Here we are compiling a list of MPS belonging to 16th Lok Sabha who have not matriculated (i.e. educated below Std X): Uma Bharti (BJP): Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti has studied till class VI only.She is Member of Parliament from Jhansi Lok Sabha Constituency and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Uma Bharti was born to a poor family. Her association with the BJP began when she was very young. Her political mentor Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia guided her to contest her first Lok Sabha election seat from Madhya Pradesh when she was only 25. She lost that election but again contested in the next elections in 1959 From Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. In 1999 she contested for Bhopal seat. Uma Bharti is a prominent and controversial leader of the movement for a Ram temple in the days leading up to the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.Tasleem Uddin (RJD): Araria, BiharThere is no record of Tasleem Uddin's education. He is Member of Lok Sabha from Araria Lok Sabha constituency. He won the elections with a margin of 146504 compared to his rival Pradeep Kumar Singh of BJP. Taleem is a powerful rogue with several murder and rape charges pending against him. He was the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in Manmohan Singh's government. In June 1996, he became a member of the Deve Gowda cabinet on the recommendation of Laloo Yadav. However, public anger in Bihar had forced Deve Gowda to prevail upon him to resign in the very next month.Kanwar Singh Tanwar (BJP): Amroha, Uttar Pradesh One of the richest Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha, Kanwar Singh Tanwar is only 7th pass. He dropped out of Government Secondary School Fatehpur Beri, New DelhiKanwar Singh Tanwar is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has won the Indian general elections, 2014 from the Amroha (Lok Sabha constituency).Turncoat politician Kanwar Singh Tanwar is known to ride the “wave”. He joined Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 2008 when Mayawati was the flavour of the season and switched sides to Congress in 2012. With the lead UPA player in a downward spiral and a Narendra Modi wave sweeping the country, Tanwar hitched his wagon to the BJP in February and landed a party ticket on Monday to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Amroha in UP with yoga guru Baba Ramdev's backing.Rathod Dipsinh Shankarsinh (BJP): Sabarkantha, GujaratRathod Dipsinh Shankarsinh is 8th pass. He too failed SSC. Dipsinh Shankarsinh is a politician and a member of parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha from Sabarkantha, Gujarat. He is a member of BJP and is also ex MLA. In the Lok Sabha Elections his immediate rival was rival Shankersinh Vaghela Bapu of Indian National Congress. Rathod Dipsinh is a social worker and is also involved in the agricultural sector. He is not a very popular leader hence his victory came as a surprise of the BJP workers. Veena Devi (LJP): Munger, Bihar : 8th PassVeena Devi is a school drop out who studied till the 9th standard. Veena Devi is a politician from Bihar and a member of the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP). She is the wife of Surajbhan Singh, an MP from Balia Bihar in 14th Lok Sabha.She became an MP in the 16th Lok Sabha election with the alliance of BJP. She defeated Lalan Singh of JD (U). Veena Devi's husband Surajbhan Singh had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the 1992 Rami Singh murder case in Begusarai.Surajbhan is at present out of jail on bail. But, as he could still not contest the polls, he had chosen the next best option - he fielded his wife from Munger constituency on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket.Fatepara Devjibhai Govindbhai (BJP): Surendranaga, Gujarat Member of Parliament Fatepara Devjibhai Govindbhai is merely 3rd Pass. He has studied only till the 3rd Standard from Pas Prathmik Shala Kankot in District Rajkot in 1974. Devjibhai Govindbhai Fatepara was born in 1958 in Kankot. He is MP in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly during 2007-2012 from Halvad constituency. He is married to Manishabahen and has one son and four daughters. Before involving himself into politics he was in the agricultural sector. Previously he was the President of District Chuvaliya Koli Mass Marriages Committee, Vice – President of Samast Koli Samaj, Gujarat. Devjibhai is involved in a number of social activities too.Patel Natubhai Gomanbhai (BJP): Dadar Nagar HaveliPatel Natubhai Gomanbhai is 5th Pass. He enrolled into Government Primary School, Silvassa in 1988 for completed his 6th grade but eventually dropped out of school. MP Natubhai Gomanbhai Patel is a politician and social worker. In 2009 he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha constituency. He is a prominent politician and is also a member of the Committee on Home Affairs. Natubhai Gomanbhai Patel is a builder. His prefers spending his free time with his children and wife. He is married to Jayashreeben and has one son and one daughter.Natubhai has 3 criminal cases pending against him.Innocent (ILDF): Chalakudy, KeralaComedian – cum actor turned politician completed his education till 8th grade from SN School, Irinjalacuda in Kerala. He contested as a Left-backed Independent from the Chalakudy constituency in Kerala and beat Congress strongman PC Chacko by 13,884 votes, making it one of the biggest surprises in Kerala's election history. The 69-year-old filmstar is also the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes. In a career spanning four decades, Innocent has acted in more than 500 films. Innocent, who survived cancer just a few months before he plunged into the electoral arena, jotted down his experiences as a patient in the memoir titled Cancer Wardile Chiri (Smile in the Cancer Ward).A part of this book has been included in the Malayalam textbook for Class V of the Kerala State syllabus this academic year.Gopal Chinayya Shetty (BJP): Mumbai North, MaharashtraGopal Chinayya Shetty is 7th pass. He completed his 7th grade from Lady of Remedy High School, Poinsur, Mumbai in 1969. He was a MLA and social worker. MP Gopal Chinayya Shetty has 10 cases pending against him. Some of the cases include Criminal intimidation, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property and rioting. Despite these cases he has a bunch of fans who laud him for his service as MLA. Gopal Chinayya earlier worked in Municipal Corporation. As MLA he developed the area of Borivali-Dahisar with play grounds, gardens, fitness and medical centers that provide dialysis at very nominal rate. Manshankar Ninama (BJP): Banswara, RajasthanMember of Parliament, Manshankar Ninama is 8th pass. He is a school dropper of Government Senior Secondary School, Ghatol in Rajasthan. Manshankar Ninama is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He contested elections for the 1st time in the Lok Sabha Elections. His rivals felt that he didn't pose any challenge for them. But Manshankar surprised everyone and won the Banswara Lok Sabha seat by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of 91,916 votes. His arch rival was Resham Malviya of Indian National Congress. Before joining politics and being a member of BJP, he was engaged in agriculture. Kundariya Mohanbhai Kundariya (BJP): Rajkot, GujaratKundariya Mohanbhai Kundariya is 8th pass. He is a dropout from VVC High School near Rajkot. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mohan Kundariya, who won the seat from Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency, courted a controversy by walking over school children at a function just few days before the elections. According to reports a video of him walking young students was shot during a yoga camp. . Several supporters of the politician are seen waving tricolour and saffron flags while the BJP leader walks over the students.A version of ‘Vande Mataram' can be heard in the backdrop. This video went viral on Youtube and Kundariya Mohanbhai was criticized from every corner of the society. Before this incident he may have been almost invisible but now people recognize him I a rather critical way. Sumedha Nand Saraswati (BJP): Sikar, Rajasthan He completed his education from Dharshnachary Sanskrit College, Dayanand Math Dina Nagar, District. Gurudraspur (Punjab). He has not specified his education but sources reveal that he is an illiterate. As per Sumedha Nand's declaration in the affidavit filed by him for contesting elections, his total assets amount to Rs 34000. This declaration makes him the poorest Member of Parliament of 16th Lok Sabha. He does not have any criminal case pending against him and hence has a clean reputation till date. Sumedha Nand Saraswati is involved in social work and spends quite a major portion of his time in charitable work. His concern of the society is what encouraged him to join politicsPatel Lalubhai Babubhai (BJP): Daman & DiuMember of Parliament Patel Lalubhai Babubhai is 8th Pass.He failed SSC Exam from Shree Somnath Kelvani Mandal High School Debhel in Daman in 1997. Patel Lalubhai is 51 years and belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party. In the 2009 election he was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Daman and Diu constituency. He was an active member of All India Backward Classes Employees Federation and Cultural Secretary. He participated in activities of India China Society. Patel Lalubhai Babubhai is married to Taruna L Patel and they have a son and two daughters. On August 2009 he was appointed to the Committee on Home Affairs. He has visited several countries including Dubai, Singapore and Thailand. Vijay Kumar Hansdak (JMM): Rajmahal, JharkhandMember of Parliament from Rajamahal constituency in Jharkhand, Vijay Kumar Hansdak is 5th pass. He is a member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He won the General elections for Rajmahal seat. In the last election, there was a tough fight between the JMM, BJP and RJP with each of the candidates securing votes in almost the same range. In order to win this seat, Hemlal Murmu who was the runner up of last Lok Sabha polls, switched party this time from JMM to BJP. Yet Vijay Kumar Hansdak outran him by winning the contest. Hari Majhi (BJP): Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, BiharHari Majhi is 8th pass. He contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and romped home with a margin of 1, 14,998 votes thereby doubling his 2009 victory margin taking BJP workers and himself by surprise. His arch rival in the election was Ramji Manjhi (RJD). He is the son of a rickshaw puller. He joined the BJP as a member and was soon elected councilor. After that he was also elected as an MLA of Bihar assembly. Hari Majhi is a social worker.He was born to Shri Mastan Majhi. 51 years old Majhi is married to Karmi Devi and has two sons and two daughters.