A. Raja

Andimuthu Raja (born Sathyaseelan; 26 October 1963) is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, who serves as Member of Parliament for the Nilgiris constituency and deputy general secretary for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[1] He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu and had been elected to house four times since 1996. Raja is an advocate by profession and he did his master's degree from Government Law College in Tiruchirappalli.

For politician from Kerala, see A. Raja (Kerala politician).

In this Indian name, the name Andimuthu is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Raja.
Andimuthu Raja
Deputy General Secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Assumed office
9 September 2020
PresidentM. K. Stalin
Union Cabinet Minister for Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
In office
16 May 2007 – 14 November 2010
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byDayanidhi Maran
Succeeded byKapil Sibal
Union Cabinet Minister for Environment and Forest
In office
23 May 2004 – 16 May 2007
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byRamesh Bais (Independent Charge)
Succeeded byJairam Ramesh (Independent Charge)
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
In office
30 September 2002 – 21 December 2003
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Cabinet MinisterShatrughan Sinha (2002-03)
Sushma Swaraj (2003)
Union Minister of State for Rural Development
In office
13 October 1999 – 30 September 2002
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Cabinet MinisterSunder Lal Patwa (1999-2000)
Venkaiah Naidu (2000-02)
Member of the Lok Sabha
Assumed office
May 2019
Preceded byC. Gopalakrishnan
ConstituencyNilgiris
In office
May 2009 – May 2014
Preceded byR. Prabhu
Succeeded byC. Gopalakrishnan
ConstituencyNilgiris
In office
October 1999 – May 2009
Preceded byP. Raja Rathinam
Succeeded byD. Napoleon
ConstituencyPerambalur
In office
May 1996 – February 1998
Preceded byA. Asokraj
Succeeded byP. Raja Rathinam
ConstituencyPerambalur
Personal details
Born
Sathyaseelan

(1963-05-10) 10 May 1963
Andimadam, Madras State
(now Perambalur District, Tamil Nadu), India
Political partyDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Spouse
Parameshwari Raja
​
(died 2021)​
ChildrenMayuri Raja
OccupationPolitician, Lawyer

Raja was first elected to Parliament as a member of Lok Sabha in 1996 from the Perambalur constituency and was reelected from the same constituency in 1999 and 2004 elections and from Nilgiris constituency in 2009. He was Minister of State for Rural development from 1996 to 2000, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare from September 2000 to May 2004 and a cabinet minister for Environment and Forests from May 2004 to May 2007. He became the cabinet minister for Communication and Information Technology from May 2007, following the resignation of Dayanidhi Maran. Raja was a co-accused in the 2G Spectrum case, along with two other members of the DMK, Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi. All three were acquitted in 2017. Raja was re-elected as Nilgiris MP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and was elected Deputy General Secretary of the DMK in September 2020.

Early life

Raja was born to S. K. Aandimuthu and Chinnapillai Ammal Andimadam of the day Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu. His grandparents, who belong to a Dalit community, went from Velur in Perambalur district to Sri Lanka to work on the tea estates. They returned to India in the 1950s, and Raja's father returned in 1961. In high school in Perambalur, Raja was first introduced to Periyar and Dravidar Kazhagam. He quickly became interested in the atheistic, rationalistic Dravidian ideology, along with those of Ambedkar and Marx.[2] He did his B.Sc. in mathematics from the Government Arts College in Musiri, but was uninterested in the subject, and was drawn to politics and writing instead. He completed his graduation in law from the Government Law College in Madurai and his masters from Government Law College Tiruchirapalli. He was married to M. A. Parameswari and the couple have a daughter named Mayuri.[3] Parameswari died of cancer on 29 May 2021. She was aged 57.[4]

Political career

Raja started his political career in his final year of undergraduate, when he joined DMK students wing, and quickly rose through party ranks.[5] When Vaiko was expelled from DMK, Raja was recommended by Rajya Sabha MP S Siva Subramaniam and KN Nehru for the DMK's candidature in Perambalur for 1996 Lok Sabha elections. He won, and entered Parliament.[2]

Elections contested
Elections Constituency Result Vote percentage Opposition Candidate Opposition Party Opposition vote percentage
1996 Indian general electionPerambalurWon59.19P.V. SubramanianINC27.41[6]
1998 Indian general electionPerambalurLost43.91P. RajarethinamAIADMK53.37[7]
1999 Indian general electionPerambalurWon48.58P. RajarethinamAIADMK38.59[8]
2004 Indian general electionPerambalurWon55.11Dr. M. SundaramAIADMK33.43[9]
2009 Indian general electionNilgirisWon44.64C. KrishnanMDMK32.52[10]
2014 Indian general electionNilgirisLost39.58C. Gopala KrishnanAIADMK49.7[11]
2019 Indian general electionNilgirisWon54.2M. ThiagarajanAIADMK33.84

Positions held
  • 1996: Elected to Lok Sabha (Eleventh) for the 1st time
  • 13 October 1996-29 September 2000: Minister of State, Rural Development
  • May 1999: Elected to Lok Sabha (Thirteenth) for the second time
  • 30 September 2000-21 May 2004: Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare
  • May 2004: Elected to Lok Sabha (Fourteenth) for the third time from Perambalur
  • 23 May 2004-17 May 2007: Cabinet minister for Environment and Forest
  • 18 May 2007-31 May 2009: Cabinet minister for Communication and Information Technology
  • May 2009: Elected to Lok Sabha (Fifteenth) for the fourth time from Nilgiris[3]

As a minister
A. Raja assumes the charge of Union Minister of Environment & Forests in New Delhi on 26 May 2004

Raja was deputed as the Minister of State, Rural Development on 13 October 1996 and he continued to retain the post till 29 September 2000. On 30 September 2001, he was deputed as the minister of state for Health and Family welfare during the National Democratic Alliance.[3][5] In December 2003, the DMK pulled out of the alliance and Raja resigned his minister's post along with his other DMK colleagues. He continued with the same ministry after the 2004 elections which was won by the Congress led alliance, which included the DMK.[5] His tenure as an Environment ministry came under intense scrutiny in 2011 during the 2G Spectrum case. His association with the key accused in the 2G case, Unitech and DB Realty, was rooted to 2004 when he was the Environment minister. One of the key points out of the CBI is the approval of 2016 clearances given by his ministry in a span of two years from 2006 to 2008, some of which were associated with the trading of hazardous waste. The other issue raised was about the large majority of Raja's supporters in the expert appraisals committee (EAC), responsible for granting clearances to various sectors.[12][13]

In 2007 May, Dinakaran, the newspaper run by Kalanidhi Maran, the elder brother of Dayanidhi Maran who was the central minister for IT and Communication, ran into a controversy when it published the results of a series of opinion polls which showed M. K. Stalin, the second son of Karunanidhi, having more approval (70%) than his elder brother M. K. Azhagiri (2%) as the political heir of Karunanidhi. It also showed others as 20%, possibly indicating Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi. The Madurai office of Dinakaran was fire bombed by supporters of Alagiri and three employees were killed.[14] The Sun TV office in Madurai was also attacked by the perpetrators.[15] A day after the incident, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi came to Chennai for felicitating Karunanidhi for 50 years in legislative assembly. Dayanidhi Maran, who usually accompanies Karunanidhi at every function, discarded the event as a mark of protest. On 13 May, the DMK administrative committee empowered Karunanidhi to remove Dayanidhi from the party. This subsequently led to his resignation from the central ministry.[16] Following his resignation, the IT portfolio was allocated to Raja on 16 May 2007.[17] On 17 October 2008, he submitted his post-dated resignation to the DMK party chief, M. Karunanidhi, in protest of the killings of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka.[18]

2G spectrum case
Main article: 2G spectrum case
Further information: Radia tapes controversy

The 2G spectrum financial scandal involved the alleged corrupt sale in 2008 of telecommunications bandwidth to selected organizations at prices that understated the real market value of the asset. The sale is claimed to have occurred when Raja headed the Telecommunications and IT Ministry; it has been considered the largest political corruption case in modern Indian history, amounting to around ₹1,766.45 billion (US$22 billion)[19][20] of lost income for the Government of India. It is alleged that the sale should have been put under a transparent auction system.

A first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claims that the allocation was not done as per market prices.[21] The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) holds Raja personally responsible for the sale of 2G spectrum at 2001 rates in 2008.[22] In August 2010, evidence was submitted by the CAG showing that Raja had personally signed and approved the majority of the questionable allocations.[23] Although the political opposition was demanding his resignation over the 2G spectrum case, Raja initially refused to resign, stating his innocence, and this view was backed by his party president M. Karunanidhi.[24] He eventually resigned on 14 November 2010.[25]

In 2011, the results of an investigation by retired judge Shivraj Patil, who was appointed by then telecom minister Kapil Sibal, also found Raja to have been directly responsible for "procedural lapses" regarding the sale.[26] The CBI and Enforcement Directorate estimated that Raja could have made as much as Rs 30 billion from the alleged bribes.[27]

In January and February 2011, Raja's houses and offices were raided by the CBI, who seized computers as potential evidence.[28] On 2 February 2011, the CBI arrested Raja with his aide, R. K. Chandolia, and Siddharth Behura, the former telecom secretary and placed them in Tihar jail.[29][30] Raja and R.K. Chandolia are heard in conversation with Niira Radia in the released Radia tapes.[31][32][33][34][35]

Subsequent to his arrest, the DMK supported him on the basis that he was innocent until proven guilty.[36]

On 6 June 2012, Delhi court permitted Raja to visit Tamil Nadu between 8 and 30 June, on grounds of discharging his previous duties in the state.[37]

On 15 May 2012, he was granted bail by the Supreme court under a condition that he would not visit the Department of Telecommunications nor his home state Tamil Nadu.[38][39][40] He stayed in Tihar jail for fifteen months.[41] The Enforcement Directorate grilled Raja on 10 July 2012 for four hours, to ascertain his role in grant of 2G licenses especially to Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless.

Delhi court on 21 December 2017 acquitted all accused, including former Telecom Minister A. Raja and DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum allocation case. [42]

Involvement in real estate

Sadiq Batcha, a close friend of Raja's, shifted his base to Chennai from his hometown of Perambalur, after Raja became a central minister in 2004. He started a real estate firm called Green House Promoters, which had Raja's nephew Paramesh Kumar as joint managing director and Raja's brother A Kaliyaperumal and Raja's wife Parameswari as directors. Parameswari resigned from the post on account of investigations. Batcha started another real estate firm in 2008 called Equals Estates Pvt Ltd, which had Parameswari as a director. The firm had a turnover of 755 crores in two years, mainly attributed to the association of Raja. Batcha was put under the CBI scanner during the 2G spectrum case as they believed him to be the conduit for Raja.[43] On 16 March 2011, Batcha was found dead in his Chennai residence. Police found a suicide note that read the reason as the excessive media coverage that maligned his image. Police registered a case under suspicious circumstances under Section 174 of the IPC.[44][45][46]

Controversies

Separate nation for Tamil Nadu

On 3 July 2022, A Raja said that the Union government is not giving the state autonomy and the Prime Minister and the Home Minister should not force them into demanding a "thani nadu" (separate nation) while speaking at a meeting held for DMK local body representatives, in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin.[47][48][49][50][51]

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi says all states are to be seen the same, and Home Minister Amit Shah says if you want unity, learn Hindi. The party's founding father Periyar, until [his] death, demanded a thani nadu. But we (DMK) kept aside that demand for our democracy and national integrity, So, I am saying this with the utmost humility. Our CM is travelling in Anna's C. N. Annadurai path so far, do not push us into following Periyar's path. Do not make us revive our demand for a separate state"[47][48][51]

DMK immediately distanced itself from the comments and said that the comments made in support of a separate nation is not the stand of the party.[47][48][51]

Books
  • Raja, Andimuthu (2018). 2G Saga Unfolds. Har-Anand Publications Pvt Limited. ISBN 978-81-241-1890-0.

See also

References
  1. "My elevation proves Stalin's faith in social justice: A Raja". dtNext.in. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. N, Vinoth Kumar (16 April 2019). "Going beyond 2G: The many faces of A Raja". The Federal. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. "Political Career". Parliament of India. National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  4. "A Raja's wife laid to rest in Perambalur". The Times of India. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. "Profile: India ex-telecoms minister A Raja". BBC. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. "Statistical report on General elections, 1996 to the 11th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 1996. p. 396. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. "Statistical report on General elections, 1998 to the 12th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 1998. p. 236. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. "Statistical report on General elections, 1999 to the 13th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 1999. p. 228. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
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  11. "Statistical report on General elections, 2014 to the 16th Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
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  15. Phandis 2009, p. 145
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  45. Daniel, Sam; Pinto, Sanjay (16 March 2011). "Sadiq Batcha's suicide note found, says Tamil Nadu police". NDTV. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  46. "Sadiq Batcha, A Raja's close aide dead". The Economic Times. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  47. "'Propagates separatism' — A. Raja's 'separate Tamil Nadu' comment draws BJP, AIADMK rebuke". ThePrint. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  48. "DMK MP Raja's heated pitch on 'separate Tamil Nadu', autonomy sets off fiery row". The Indian Express. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  49. "Making 'Separate Country' Comment, DMK's A Raja Cites Periyar, But He Dumped The Dream 66 Yrs Ago". News18. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  50. "Don't nudge us to seek independent Tamil Nadu: DMK's A. Raja seeks autonomy with CM Stalin on stage". The Hindu. PTI. 4 July 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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