Su. Thirunavukkarasar

S. Thirunavukkarasar
former Minister of Shipping, Telecommunication and Information Technology
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Constituency Pudukottai
Personal details
Born (1949-05-07) 7 May 1949
Political party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – (1977–1991)
Thayaga Marumalarchi Kazhagam (1991–1996)
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1996–2000)
MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (2000–2002) (merged with BJP) [1]
Bharatiya Janata Party (2002–2009)
INC (2009 – current) [2]
Residence Madras

Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar (born 7 May 1949) is an Indian politician. He is a secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the Indian National Congress (INC) party.[3] His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 1977. He identified Thirunavukkarasar, a lawyer by profession, to contest the Aranthangi assembly constituency. Thirunavukkarasar won the seat, aged 27, and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He continued in that capacity till 1980. Subsequently, he served as Tamil Nadu state minister from 1980 to 1987 in the Ramachandran cabinet, holding portfolios that included Industries, Excise and Handlooms. Later, he became a member of the Lok Sabha – the lower house of the Parliament of India – when he won the Pudukottai parliamentary constituency. He served as central government minister for shipping, telecommunications and information technology.

Thirunavukkarasar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a brief period and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of the Parliament of India – from the state of Madhya Pradesh. He contested unsuccessfully in the Indian general election, 2009 elections from Ramanathapuram constituency as a BJP candidate.[2]

Early life

S. Thirunavukkarasar was born in Theeyathoor, Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu on 7 May 1949. He did his M.A., B.L. at Madras University, Chennai and Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi.[4]

Career

Thirunavukkarasar was elected from Aranthangi legislative assembly constituency at each election from 1977 to 1996. He resigned his seat on 15 October 1999.[5]

He won the Pudukottai Lok Sabha Constituency in 1999 and was Union minister of state for Shipping and, later, Communication and Information Technology until 2004.

He was appointed as the secretary of the AICC by the INC president, Sonia Gandhi. Currently, as AICC secretary, he is responsible for Telangana and participated in the selection of Jana Reddy as leader of the opposition.[6] Thirunavukkarasar was invited to inaugurate the Tamil Nadu chapter of Indian National Congress Overseas in New York, US.[7]

Achievements as State Minister (Tamil Nadu)

Thirunavukkarasar was the Industries, Handlooms and Commercial tax minister in the Ramachandran cabinet while simultaneously being the deputy speaker of the assembly. He established Tamil Nadu Magnesite Corporation (TANMAG) and Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited (TAMIN) to further exploration of mineral resources in the state. Thirunavukkarasar also established several State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOTs). Several paper and sugar mills were established by Thirunavukkarasar.

Believing in human resource development through education, he established schools, arts and science college and polytechnics in the 1980s. He also built small dams in rivers and started hospitals and primary health centers. These were done while there was hardly any awareness about water storage and health care.

Minister in the Government of India

As shipping minister, Thirunavukkarasar considered maritime education as necessary for the shipping industry. He emphasised the importance of technology and scientific training and encouraged the National Institute of Port Management to train more personnel. He also inaugurated new premises for Academy of Maritime Education and Training (AMET).[8]

Congress relationship

Sonia Gandhi took over the presidency of congress in 1998. In the 1999 election, no party was willing to align with Congress other than the MGRADMK, of which Thirunavukkarasar was president.[9] In this election, Thirunavukkarasar lost an election for the first time.

Recently, Thirunavukkarasar contested the Ramanathapuram parliament election while several congress stalwarts refused to contest the election.

Personal life

Su. Thirunavukkarasar married Jayanthi in 1978. They have three sons and two daughters.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "The king and his pocket borough". The Hindu. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  2. 1 2 "S. Thirunavukkarasar leaves BJP to join Congress". The Hindu. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  3. ↑ "Our Organisation". Indian National Congress. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  4. 1 2 "Biographical Sketch". Parliament of India. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15.
  5. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Eleventh Assembly): Review 1996-2001" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. p. 20. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Congress posts for losers in Telangana assembly and legislative council". The Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  7. ↑ "INOC USA Tamil Nadu Chapter launched". India Post. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  8. ↑ "`Maritime education key to shipping industry's growth'". The Hindu. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  9. ↑ "Campaigning ends in 183 seats, EC gears up for second phase". Rediff.com. 20 February 1998. Retrieved 2017-05-06.

3. http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?203657 4. http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980305/06450164.html 5. http://www.rediff.com/news/may/21aiadmk.htm 6. http://www.rediff.com/%0D%0Anews/1998/feb/20second.htm 7. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sonia-gandhis-election-campaign-it-is-a-spectacle-from-start-to-end/1/263584.html 7. http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19970606/15750193.html 8. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/while-mgr-recuperates-in-us-aiadmk-heads-for-a-split-jayalalitha-gets-a-rude-shock/1/353861.html

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