Ahmad Ashfaque Karim is a businessman, edupreneur[2] and politician from Katihar, Bihar, India. He is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha of the Indian Parliament from Rashtriya Janata Dal party.[3]
Ahmad Ashfaque Karim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| MP of Rajya Sabha for Bihar[1] | |
| In office 3 April 2018 – 2 April 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Anil Kumar Sahani, JD(U) |
| Succeeded by | Sanjay Yadav, RJD |
| Constituency | Bihar |
| Chancellor of the Al-Karim University Katihar, Bihar | |
| Assumed office 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Rashtriya Janata Dal |
Career
editKarim was appointed vice-president of the Lok Janshakti Party, and unsuccessfully contested the 2010 State Assembly election for Katihar constituency of the Lok Sabha.[4]
In 2012, Karim established and Kosi Bedari Morcha, a group that campaigns for special status for Bihar's eight districts in Kosi division, one of the poorest regions of India.[5] He is the founder Chairman of Al-Karim Educational Trust, Patna, Bihar; founder Chancellor of Al-Karim University, Katihar, Bihar; and founder Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Katihar Medical College, Katihar, Bihar.[6]
Karim was formerly the chairman and managing director of Katihar Medical College in Katihar. In June 2013, police arrested him at his home on suspicion of taking bribes from student applicants to the medical college. The police seized ₹2.5 crore (equivalent to ₹4.2 crore or US$510,000 in 2023) hidden in various locations of his house and cars, medical college mark sheets and answer sheets, a currency-counting machine, and an unlicensed rifle.[7][8] Karim and the medical college's clerk Mohammad Tanzim were charged and jailed under different sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and forgery in the college's entrance examinations, and Karim was charged under the Arms Act, 1959 for possession of an unlicensed firearm.[8]
He is currently a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal party, and was named a Rajya Sabha candidate for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections held in March 2018,[9][10][11] for which he was one of five candidates elected unopposed.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ravi Shankar, five other RS nominees elected unopposed". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ Desk, Caravan. "All 6 CANDIDATES OF RAJYA SABHA FROM BIHAR INCLUDING ASHFAQ KARIM OF RJD DECLARED ELECTED UNOPPOSED". clarionindia.net. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ IANS (3 April 2018). "41 newly elected Rajya Sabha members take oath". Business Standard India. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "RJD picks Manoj Jha, Ashfaque for RS polls". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "The Kosi Bedari Morcha, an outfit raising the demand for special status to Bihar's eight districts in Kosi region, will hold a rally at Purnia on Wednesday to press the state government over its demands for the development of this comparatively backward region, said Morcha president Ahmad Ashfaq Karim". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Welcome to Katihar Medical College". kmckatihar.org. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Katihar Medical College's CMD in cop net, Rs 2.5 crore seized". timesofindia.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Jail for medical college boss". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "RJD Names Manoj Jha, Ashfaque Karim as Candidates for Rajya Sabha Polls". News18. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Rajya Sabha elections 2018: RJD names Manoj Jha, Ashfaque Karim as candidates for polls". financialexpress.com. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Karim denies deal with Lalu". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.