| Shivraj Vishwanath Patil | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office Jan 22, 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Sunith Francis Rodrigues |
| Minister for Home Affairs | |
| In office 22 May 2004 – 30 November 2008[1] |
|
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Lal Krishna Advani |
| Succeeded by | P. Chidambaram |
| Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| In office 10 July 1991 – 22 May 1996 |
|
| Preceded by | Rabi Ray |
| Succeeded by | P.A. Sangma |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 15 January 1980 – 2 December 1989 |
|
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Succeeded by | Shankarrao Chavan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 12, 1935 Latur, Maharashtra, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Occupation | Politician |
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil (born October 12, 1935) is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh.[2] Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs. He has also served the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi cabinets as the defence minister during the 80's. He resigned from the post of Home-Minister on November 30, 2008 following widespread criticism raised after terrorist attacks on Mumbai. He resigned taking the moral responsibility for the attacks.[3]
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Patil was born in 1935 in the village of Chakur in the Latur district (Marathwada region) of Maharashtra, India. He attended Osmania University, Hyderabad, earning a degree in Science and studied Law at Bombay University. During 1967–69, he was involved in local government (Latur Municipality).
Patil belongs to the Lingayat community.[4] He married Smt. Vijaya Patil in June 1963.[5]
Between 1972–80, he was member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for two terms of 1972–1978 and 1978 to 1980 during which time he held various positions such as Chairman of Public Undertakings Committee, Deputy Minister (Law & Judiciary, Irrigation, Protocol), Deputy Speaker of the Assembly and Speaker of the Assembly.
In 1980, he was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha. By 1999 (13th Lok Sabha), he had won seven successive Lok Sabha elections in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999
First inducted in the Indira Gandhi-led government in as Minister of State for Defence (1980–82), he was given independent charge of the Commerce Ministry (1982–83), from where he was shifted to Science and Technology, Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space and Ocean Development (1983–84).
During 1983–86, he was Vice President of CSIR India. He also served on various committees including those on Defence, External Affairs, Finance, Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament.
In the Rajiv Gandhi government, he was Minister for Personnel, Defence production and later held independent charge of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
He has also held a number of important positions in the party ever since Sonia Gandhi took over the presidency of the party. He is largely known for introducing the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award, India in 1995. He was the chairman of the manifesto committee of the party during the 1999 Lok Sabha election.
As speaker of the Lok Sabha, he had begun or contributed in initiatives on information dissemination to members of the Parliament (through computerisation and modernisation), construction of Parliament Library Building and broadcast of Loksabha proceedings, including live broadcast of Question Hour of both houses of the parliament.
Between 1991–1995, he was a member / leader of Indian parliamentary delegations to various international parliamentary conferences.
He became Home Minister in 2004. A former Lok Sabha speaker, Shivraj Patil lost in the 2004 polls from Latur constituency in Maharashtra, but has still landed up the second most important position in the Union Cabinet—that of the Home Minister. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in July 2004. Widely seen as an ineffective minister, his tenure as home minister was marred by one debacle after another and he faced increasing calls for his resignation, which he was eventually forced to due to the mishandling in the events leading up to and after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
US Ambassador David Mulford in an Embassy cable had described, his removal after Mumbai terrorists attack as inevitable and called him "inept" and "asleep on the watch".[6][7][8][9][10]
Patil is accused for not sending CRPF to Nandigram, even after repeated request by the West Bengal government, to restore order in the area and the events resulted in police firing.
Patil's name was considered a likely candidate in 2007 presidential election. However, after the Left parties opposed his candidature, Sonia Gandhi proposed Pratibha Patil, Governor of Rajasthan, as the presidential candidate. Shivraj Patil was later considered a possible candidate for the post of Vice President of India. His extensive parliamentary experience and his reputation for fairness were said to be the main advantages on his side.
Patil was seen in three different sets of clothes on the night of 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings in which 30 people were killed. He was accused of paying more attention to his clothes than the blasts.[11]
On 30 November 2008, just two months after Delhi blasts, Shivraj Patil resigned from his position of Home Minister in Union Cabinet taking moral responsibility of the security lapse that lead to the November 2008 Terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
| Preceded by Pranab Mukherjee |
Minister of Defence 15 January 1980 –2 December 1989 |
Succeeded by Shankarrao Chavan |
| Preceded by Rabi Ray |
Speaker of Lok Sabha 1991–1996 |
Succeeded by P. A. Sangma |
| Preceded by L.K. Advani |
Home Minister of India 2004–2008 |
Succeeded by P. Chidambaram |
| Preceded by Sunith Francis Rodrigues |
Governor of Punjab & Administrator of Chandigarh January 2010 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Prabha Rau |
Governor of Rajasthan (acting) April 2010 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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