Ramesh Kumar Vankwani Explained

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani
Office:Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Term Start:13 March 2024
Constituency:Reserved seat for minorities
Term Start1:13 August 2018
Term End1:10 August 2023
Constituency1:Reserved seat for minorities
Term Start2:1 June 2013
Term End2:31 May 2018
Constituency2:Reserved seat for minorities
Nationality:Pakistani
Otherparty:IPP (2023-2024)
PTI (2018-2023)
PMLN (2013-2018)
PMLQ (2002-2013)
Party:PPP (2024-present)
Office3:Founder of Pakistan Hindu Council
Term Start3:2005
Office4:Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh [PML-Q]
Term Start4:2002
Term End4:2007
Constituency4:Reserved seat for minorities
Occupation:Politician
Birth Place:Islamkot, Sindh, Pakistan
Native Name:Sindhi: {{Naskh|رميش ڪمار وانڪواڻي

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from August 2018 till August 2023. But in 2022 he left PTI to join PPP. Previously he was member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018 and a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 2002 to 2007. He was considered a strongest candidate to contest General Elections 2024 from NA-241 Karachi on the ticket of PPP. [1] However, he was not awarded the ticket and his nomination on the reserved seats in National Assembly was not liked by the ideological workers of PPP on the bases that he had been known changing political parties in the past two decades. [2]

Education & Background

Vankwani possesses Bachelor's Degree of Medicine and Bachelor's Degree of Surgery.[3] He was born in Islamkot, Tharparkar in 1974, into a Sindhi Hindu family.

Political career

Vankwani ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as an independent candidate from Constituency PS-61 (Tharparkar-II) in the 2002 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 34 votes and lost the seat to a candidate of National Alliance.[4] In the same election, he was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) on a reserved seat for minorities. He founded Pakistan Hindu Council[5] in 2005.[6]

Vankwani was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) on a reserved seat for minorities in the 2013 Pakistani general election.[7] [8]

Vankwani came to the limelight in September 2014,[9] when he along with Rehman Malik was removed from a flight from Karachi to Islamabad because of their late check-in which caused the flight to delay.[10] [11]

Vankwani January 2018, he was elected as the chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee for Statistics.[12] In April 2018, he quit PML-N and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[13]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI on a reserved seat for minorities in 2018 Pakistani general election.[14] He stood against his party policy in no confidence motion.

On 13 May 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended his membership as a member of the National Assembly.[15] This action followed a Supreme Court of Pakistan decision to suspend the verdict of the Peshawar High Court, which had denied the allocation of a reserved seat to the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council bloc.[16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023-12-31 . Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani emerged as strongest NA-241 candidate - PNP . 2024-08-01 . Press Network of Pakistan . en-US.
  2. Web site: Ali . Kalbe . 2024-01-06 . Award of ticket to Vankwani draws ire of PPP minority leaders . 2024-08-01 . DAWN.COM . en.
  3. Web site: Welcome to the Website of Provincial Assembly of Sindh. www.pas.gov.pk. 7 April 2018.
  4. Web site: 2002 Sindh Assembly election result. ECP. 7 April 2018. 13 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180413164733/https://ecp.gov.pk/Documents/General%20Election%202002/Sind.pdf. dead.
  5. News: 56 candidates vie for 15 Hindu Council seats. 7 April 2018. The Nation.
  6. News: Pakistan Hindu Council loses an active member. 7 April 2018. www.thenews.com.pk. en.
  7. News: Women, minority seats allotted. 7 March 2017. DAWN.COM. 29 May 2013. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170307205110/https://www.dawn.com/news/1014677. 7 March 2017.
  8. News: Is the NA apathetic towards minority issues?. 7 March 2017. DAWN.COM. 22 September 2014. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170308044428/https://www.dawn.com/news/1133565. 8 March 2017.
  9. News: PML-N's minority lawmaker Ramesh Kumar formally joins PTI. 7 April 2018. Daily Pakistan Global.
  10. News: Two Pakistani Politicians Got Kicked Off a Plane by Furious Passengers. 21 January 2015. Time. 17 September 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150119033955/http://time.com/3388980/pakistan-international-airlines-pia-rehman-malik-ramesh-kumar-vankwani/. 19 January 2015.
  11. News: Pakistan Rehman Malik: Passengers force ex-minister off plane. 21 January 2015. BBC News. 16 September 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215171126/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29218939. 15 February 2015.
  12. News: Dr Ramesh Kumar elected chairman of NA Committee on Statistics. 6 April 2018. www.pakistantoday.com.pk.
  13. News: Big blow to PML-N as MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar joins PTI. 7 April 2018. www.thenews.com.pk. en.
  14. News: Reporter . The Newspaper's Staff . List of MNAs elected on reserved seats for women, minorities . 12 August 2018 . DAWN.COM . 12 August 2018.
  15. Web site: Notification dated 13 May 2024 . ecp.gov.pk . Election Commission of Pakistan . 14 May 2024.
  16. News: Khan . Iftikhar A. . Ruling coalition loses two-thirds majority in NA . 14 May 2024 . DAWN.COM . 14 May 2024 . en.