| Jayanthi Natarajan | |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Tamil Nadu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 June 1954 Madras, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | V.K. Natarajan |
| Children | one son |
| Residence | New Delhi |
| Religion | Hindu |
| As of 26 January, 2007 Source: [3] |
|
Jayanthi Natarajan (Tamil: ஜெயந்தி நடராஜன்) (born 7 June 1954) is an Indian lawyer and politician. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and has been thrice elected Member of Parliament representing the state of Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha. Since July 2011, she has been the Minister of Forests and Environment.
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Jayanthi Natarajan was born in a Mudaliar family in Tamil Nadu. Her grandfather was M. Bakthavatsalam, a prominent Congress politician and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu between 1963 and 1967. Jayanthi studied law and became a practising advocate in Madras. Apart from her commercial practice she also did pro bono work for a number of social organizations including the All India Women's Conference, and the legal aid board.She also worked briefly as a newscaster for for Doordarshan Kendra ,Madras [1][2]
New reshuffle stands Jayanthi Natarajan to Environmment Minister. See Resources on Ministry of Environment and Forests
Her political career began when she was noticed by Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s. She was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1986 and re-elected in 1992.
During the 90's Jayanthi Natarajan and other leaders from Tamil Nadu who were unhappy with Narasimha Rao decided to break away from the party. They founded the Tamil Maanila Congress under G K Moopanar. Jayanthi Natarajan resigned from the Rajya Sabha and was re-elected in 1997 as a TMC member.
The TMC was allied with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and was a part of the United Front government in the centre. Jayanthi Natarajan was appointed Minister of State for Coal, Civil Aviation and Parliamentary Affairs in 1997.
With Moopanar's death the TMC leaders decided to merge with the Congress. Jayanthi Natarajan was noticed by Sonia Gandhi and appointed spokesperson for the party. She has replaced Mr. Jairam Ramesh as Environment Minister on July 12, 2011 in the UPA led Union Government.
A Chennai high court had issued a notice to Congress party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan, acting on an affidavit seeking direction to probe a Rs 300 crore scam involving her.[3]