Union Home and Law ministries to work in active co-operation: Ravi Shankar

Law Kumar Mishra
Patna: Ravishankar Prasad, enrolled as a senior lawyer in Patna High Court, on Wednesday took over as the new Law minister replacing D Sadanand Gowda who has been made minister in Staststics and Programme Implementation ministry. Ravishankar will have his third tenure as union Law minister. He was holding this portfolio in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and later in May 2014 in Narendra Modi led ministry. He held till this morning ministry of Communications which has been given to Manoj Sinha, BJP MP from Gazipur in neighbouring UP. Manoj was president of Banaras Hindu University Students Union and has links with Biharsharif (Nalanda), which is his in-laws’ place.
After taking over Law minister, Ravishankar said the union Home and Law ministeries will work in active co-operation. His ministry was examining the feasibility of introduction of Common Civil Code after consulting all stakeholders. He claimed law was close to his heart. He had successfully defended the Ram Janambhoomi trust in Allahabad High Court and was actively involved in the prosecution of Lalu Prasad and others in fodder scam when CBI was handed over the probe. His wife Maya Shankar is a professor in History in Patna University.
Ravishankar’s father Thakur Prasad was also a senior lawyer in Patna High Court and industries minister in 1977 in Karpoori Thakur led government.

M J Akbar, who was first elected to Lok Sabha from Kishanganj as Congress nominee, also took over as the minister of state in external affairs ministry. Akbar has also links with Patna as his sister, an English PG topper from Patna University, stays at Sabzibagh in central Patna. Akbar was editor of The Telegraph and Sunday. S S Ahluwalia, MP from Darjeeling, also took over as MOS in Parliamentary Affairs ministry. Ahluwalia hails from Begusarai and has residence at East Boring Canal Road, Patna. He was member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar during Congress regime and was considered close to Rajiv Gandhi.He was MOS in P V Narsimha Rao government.