P. L. Punia

Panna Lal Punia, usually known as P. L. Punia, is an Indian politician and Member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh from 2014 till 2020. He was member of the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014 and represented Barabanki (Lok Sabha constituency). He is a Dalit leader of the Indian National Congress party. He was also chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes between 2013 and 2016 and as such sat ex officio on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

In July 2012, Punia appeared in the popular TV show Satyamev Jayate, hosted by Bollywood star Aamir Khan, to raise awareness of discrimination against scheduled castes.

Early life, career and family
He was born on 23 January 1945 to Bharat Singh and Dakhan Devi in the Jhajjar district of the Punjab region (now Haryana), British India. He took an M.A. from Panjab University, Chandigarh and a PhD from Lucknow University, Uttar Pradesh. In 1970 he joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), becoming District magistrate in Aligarh during 1982–85.

P. L. Punia is married to Indira Punia and they have 3 children. Their son Tanuj Punia is a graduate (B.Tech) from IIT Roorkee and has been involved in social work since 2007. He contested in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh election as a Congress candidate in Zaidpur and came runners-up. He has become a spokesperson of the Indian National Congress since then.