Arjun Singh

Arjun Singh
Arjun Singh in 1984
Minister of Human Resource Development
In office
2004–2009
Preceded by Murli Manohar Joshi
Succeeded by Kapil Sibal
Personal details
Born 5 November 1930
Churhat, Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh, India
Died 4 March 2011 (aged 80)
Spouse(s) Saroj Kumari
Occupation Politician

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Family

Arjun Singh was born in a Rajput family[1] in Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh. Singh's father, Sunami, also a Congress politician, was Minister of Industry under Hemant kumar .

Singh was married to Saroj Devi of Pratapgarh near Amarpatan in Satna, M.P. and the couple have two sons and a daughter. Abhimanyu Singh, their first son, is a businessman in Bangalore. Their second son, Ajay Singh 'Rahul', is an Indian National Congress politician and presently leader of opposition of Madhya Pradesh state assembly, MP MLA and has been a minister in M.P. Government. Their daughter Veena Singh fought unsuccessfully as an independent candidate from Sidhi Lok Sabha constituency in 15th Lok Sabha elections. Veena Singh's son, Kunwar Aishwarya Singh married the aristocrat, Devyani Rana from the Rana dynasty of Nepal. Bollywood actor Arunoday Singh is another grandson.

Death

Singh died on 4 March 2011, at the age of 80. He had been admitted in Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) a few days previously with chest neurological problems and died of a heart attack.[2] He was cremated at his home town of Churhat, Madhya Pradesh.

Career

Arjun Singh was a minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao cabinet but he resigned after the Babri Masjid demolition. At the time, he formed the All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) along with Narayan Dutt Tiwari, former Union minister and ex-CM of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal) as President, but he lost in the 1996 Loksabha elections from Satna in Madhya Pradesh and the Congress too lost power at the center. Later he returned to Congress and lost again from Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. He served as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh three times, Union minister and Governor of Punjab once for a short period. As Governor of Punjab, he worked for the Rajiv-Longwal Accord for peace in Punjab. He was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2000.

Controversies

Bhopal Incident

Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh when the deadly gas leak from the Union Carbide factory occurred. It is widely alleged that on the fateful night between 2 and 3 December 1984, when the gas leak occurred, Arjun Singh fled to his Kerwa Dam palace (outside Bhopal) to save himself from deadly effects of leaked gas and was not available to manage the crisis or lead the administration. Subsequently the Arjun Singh government's mishandling was criticized by the court in the verdict on Bhopal incident pronounced by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal on 7 June 2010. The media raised serious questions about his role in the release of Warren Anderson.[3] In particular, the pilot of the aircraft in which Warren Anderson flew out of India after the gas leak, has recorded that the final sanction to permit the flight came from Arjun Singh's office.[4]

Churhat lottery case and Kerwa Dam palace

While Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, he was involved in the scandal which was called by some the Churhat Lottery case. The Churhat Children Welfare Society was floated in 1982 by relatives of Singh, and permitted to raise funds via lottery, and also given tax relief as a charity.[5] However, there were widespread allegations[6] that a substantial sums were siphoned off and used to construct the lavish Kerwa Dam palace near Bhopal. The donations to the society included a Rs 150,000 donation from Union Carbide,[4] whose chief Warren Anderson was permitted to leave the country after the gas leak, allegedly by Arjun Singh's office.

At a public litigation hearing the high court observed that "Arjun Singh owed an explanation to the nation about the costs and sources of construction of the palatial mansion in Bhopal".[7] While Singh had claimed the value of the palace was Rs 1.8 million, the IT Department estimated the cost at above Rs one crore.[8] However, a one-judge commission investigating the scandal gave a clean chit to Arjun Singh.[9] The case was re-opened however, after the Jain Hawala case,[7] and Singh was asked to submit fresh re-estimates of the palace cost. In court, the case was argued by Kapil Sibal and the order for re-examination was squashed on the grounds that it had been issued in a haste and "had not applied his mind".[7]

Other controversies

After the Mumbai train bombings of 2006, he reportedly quoted at a Cabinet meeting the statements of a former judge of the Maharashtra High Court that an earlier attempt on the headquarters of the Hindu revivalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Nagpur had been a plot set into motion by the Sangh itself. This followed his denouncement of the Ekal Vidyalayas, one-teacher schools run for the benefit of the tribals of India by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.,[10] as communal.[11]

A case under the Anti-Dowry Act has been registered against Arjun Singh.[12] Mayawati government has decided to seek CBI inquiry into dowry harassment case.[13]

Arjun Singh was accused of irregularities and corruption in the grant of Deemed University status to private for-profit educational institutions which did not meet requisite educational standards, during his tenure as Minister for Human Resources Development. The Government of India initiated proceedings to repeal the "Deemed University" status of 44 such institutions in Jan 2010.[14]

Positions held

He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh without opposition on 20 March 2006.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arjun Singh Rajput
  2. ↑ Veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh dies
  3. ↑ "How Anderson came and left", The Bhopal Post, 9 June 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://himalnews.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/national-politics-bjp-loses-appetite-for-dinner-not-pact/
  5. ↑ O. P. Ralhan (1998). Encyclopaedia of political parties : India, Pakistan, Bangladesh; national, regional, local. Anmol Publications. ISBN 81-7488-865-9. p. 89
  6. ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081125/main5.htm
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2000/12/02/stories/120264tc.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/miscellaneous-project-reports/204558-jain-hawala-case.html
  9. ↑ http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19980810/22250364p.html
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "44 Deemed Universities To Be De-Recognised By Govt". The Times of India. 19 January 2010.
  15. ↑ CV at Indian Parliament website.
  16. ↑ "Arjun, Bhardwaj, Shinde elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha", Tribuneindia.com, 20 March 2006.

External links

Preceded by
Rajmangal Pandey		 Union Human Resources Development Minister
1991–1994 		Succeeded by
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Preceded by
Murli Manohar Joshi		 Union Human Resources Development Minister
2004-2009 		Succeeded by
Kapil Sibal
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