Harsh Vardhan (Delhi politician)
Harsh Vardhan (born Harshvardhan Goel,[1] 13 December 1954) is an Indian politician and otorhinolaryngologist. He had served as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences in the BJP-led NDA government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 30 May 2019 to 7 July 2021. He represents Chandni Chowk in Delhi as a Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha. He was elected to the office of chairperson of executive board of the World Health Organization from May 22, 2020.[2] Vardhan has been prominent in the Indian government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] He later resigned from his cabinet post ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021.
For others, see Harsh Vardhan (disambiguation).
Harsh Vardhan
Hiroki Nakatani
Patrick Amoth
Constituency established
Bharatiya Janata Party (until 2024)
Nutan Goel
3
Dr Harsh Vardhan has quit active politics on 4 March 2024 after allegedly being denied a ticket for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.[4]
As MP Chandni Chowk[edit]
He was elected as MP of Chandni Chowk in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.[5] He was again elected as MP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. [1].
Early life[edit]
Harsh Vardhan was born in Delhi to Om Prakash Goel and Sneh Lata Goel.[6] Vardhan finished his schooling from Happy School, Daryaganj, in 1971. He attended Zakir Husain Delhi College of the University of Delhi and Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College of the Kanpur University, where he graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. He earned his Master of Surgery in Otorhinolaryngology from the same college in 1983. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood.[7]
Controversies[edit]
At the 105th Indian Science Congress in March 2018, after the death of legendary British scientist Stephen Hawking, Vardhan claimed that Hawking had said that the Vedas postulated a theory superior to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, despite the fact that there is no record of Hawking having made the statement.[32][33][34]
In 2019, after the Health Effects Institute released a scientific report estimating 1.2 million annual deaths in India due to air pollution, Vardhan denied the results, arguing that this report was intended to create panic[35] In 2021, Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest association of doctors in India, issued a statement which it objected to Vardhan who was endorsing Coronil, a product of Patanjali Ayurved.[36] IMA questioned the ethics of a health minister of the country to release a fabricated and unscientific product to the people of the country.[37]
In 2023, a legislator from ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made Islamophobic remarks and used communal slurs against a Muslim MP inside the parliament. During a Thursday night debate on 22 September 2023 on the success of India’s historic moon mission, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri called Kunwar Danish Ali of the opposition Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) a “terrorist” and a “pimp” among other anti-Islamic slurs.[38] Dr Harsh Vardhan came under attack after a video footage of the incident went viral on social media. In the video clip, he was seen sitting behind Ramesh Bidhuri and appeared to be laughing.[39][40]
Vardhan has received the following awards and recognitions:[41]