Patna:
For Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary, age is not the limit. At 58, he is set to become an assistant professor. But will he take it, or continue with his political journey? The Bihar Rural Works minister, who belongs to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), will have to resign from the state government or take a special permission if he wants to teach and at the same time keep his ministerial post.
Mr Choudhary applied for the post in 2020. The minister made it to the merit list in the post of assistant professor after five years. The selection was made under the Scheduled Castes (ST) category.
He said he will not give up politics or take the salary of assistant professor.
“My father, who had inspired me to enter politics, had also insisted that I build a strong foundation in politics. This is the reason why before entering politics, I had completed my masters and done my PhD from the Magadh University,” Mr Choudhary news agency told PTI.
His father, late Mahavir Choudhary, had been a minister when the Congress ruled Bihar in the 1980s. His daughter Shambhavi is the Lok Janshakti (Ram Vilas) MP from Samastipur.
“While in politics, I retained an aptitude for academics. Many research papers of mine have been published in reputed journals. A few years ago, I was invited by Harvard to read a paper on Scheduled Castes women in Independent India, which was also the topic of my doctoral thesis. So, when the vacancy came out in 2020, I decided to give it a try. Yesterday I learnt that I was among the lucky candidates,” he said.
On his plans, the Bihar minister made it clear “there is no question of giving up politics which I have been into for more than two decades. I am, however, willing to give my services as an assistant professor without taking any salary. There have been many political leaders who have managed their academic careers side by side. I would try to do the same”.
The Congress also took a swipe at Mr Choudhary, who had been the party’s state unit president till 2017. He joined the JD(U) the next year.
On its X handle, the Congress shared a report about Mr Choudhary’s selection, saying, “The young are not getting jobs. But Ashok Choudhary became a professor at the age of 58, years thanks to the RSS quota”.
The allusion was to the recent controversy over Mr Choudhary’s son-in-law Sayan Kunal being appointed a member of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts. The minister, while denying his alleged role in the appointment, had said Mr Kunal was an “RSS quota” appointee.
