Kaduvetti Guru

Kaduvetti Guru
Personal details
Born J. Gurunathan
1 February 1961
Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
Political party Pattali Makkal Katchi

Kaduvetti Guru, also known as J. Gurunathan and J. Guru, (born 1 February 1961) is an Indian politician, Vanniyar activist and former Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu.

Elections

Guru represented the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party. After an unsuccessful attempt to win a seat in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1996,[1] he was elected as a PMK candidate from Andimadam constituency in the 2001 elections.[2] He lost the contest for the Jayankondam constituency in the 2006 elections[3] but won the seat in the 2011 elections.[4] His attempt to defend it in the 2016 elections resulted in him coming second to J. K. N. Ramajeyalingam of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[5]

Comments by Guru against various Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ministers in June 2008 caused the DMK to end its alliance with the PMK, although the relationship had been difficult for some time previously. The PMK founder, S. Ramadoss, protested Guru's arrest in relation to the comments, which Ramadoss claimed was part of a political vendetta.[6] When Guru stood in the Tiruvannamalai constituency in the 2009 general elections, he suffered a record defeat as the DMK targeted PMK candidates after the break-up of the alliance.[7]

Legal cases against politicians in Tamil Nadu are common. At the time of the 2011 state assembly elections, Guru and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate M. Muruganandam were noted as having the most outstanding cases of all the candidates, with nine each. Guru — whose cases mostly related to allegations of attempted murder, damage to public property and speeches inciting racial hatred — pointed out that he had never lost a case and that ""No court has convicted me so far. Several cases can be filed against me but the people, my conscience and God know whether I am a criminal or not."[8]

There were further legal problems. In 2012, he was cited under the Indian Penal Code by the police for unlawful assembly and riot in relation to a speech he allegedly delivered at Thazhambur, Kancheepuram district, and a speech at the Chithirai festival in Mamallapuram resulted in his 2013 arrest under the National Security Act.[9]

At the time of the 2016 state assembly elections, there were 18 police cases pending against Guru, of which charges had been pressed in six. This was the greatest number filed against any candidate, with the combined total for all candidates being 324.[10]

Personal life

Guru was born on 1 February 1961 in Kumbakonam. He is married with two children, has an MA degree and has been state president of the Vanniyar Sangam.[11] He lives in Kaduvetti village in Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results in 1996". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  2. ↑ 2001 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  3. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results in 2006". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  4. ↑ "List of MLAs from Tamil Nadu 2011" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-20.
  5. ↑ "Jayankondam (Tamil Nadu) Election Results". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  6. 1 2 "PMK leader 'Kaduvetti' Guru held". Sify News. 5 July 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-08.
  7. ↑ "Why The Tables Could Not Be turned". The Telegraph. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  8. ↑ Sivakumar, B.; Ramanujam, K. (5 April 2011). "Kaduvetti Guru, BJP man have most cases against them". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  9. ↑ "PMK leader ‘Kaduvetti’ Guru detained under NSA". The Hindu. PTI. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  10. ↑ Sivakumar, B. (11 May 2016). "At 324, no. of TN candidates with criminal cases doubles". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  11. ↑ "Thiru. J. Guru (a) Gurunathan (PMK)". Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
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