P. Chidambaram
Encyclopedia
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram (Tamil
: ப. சிதம்பரம்; born 16 September 1945) is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs
of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India
from May 2004 to November 2008. However, after the resignation of Shivraj Patil
, Chidambaram was made the Home Affairs Minister
.
in the Sivaganga District
, in the state of Tamil Nadu
, India. He was born into the royal family of Chettinad
.
Chidambaram did his schooling from the Madras Christian College Hr.Sec.School, Chennai. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.
) degree in Statistics
from The Presidency College, Chennai
, he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.
) from the Madras Law College currently Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai
, and his Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School
class of 1968. He also holds a Masters from Loyola College
, Chennai
.
He enrolled as an Advocate in the Chennai High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1984. He has chambers
in Delhi
and Chennai and practices in the Supreme Court
and in various High Courts in India.
(Lower House) of the Indian Parliament
from the Sivaganga
constituency of Tamil Nadu
in general elections held in 1984. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the general elections of 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2004 and 2009. He was a union leader for MRF and worked his way up in the Congress party.
He was the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress
president and then the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee (TNPCC) unit.
He was inducted into the Union (Indian federal) Council of Ministers in the government headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
on 21 September 1985 as a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Commerce and then in the Ministry of Personnel. His main actions during his tenure in this period was to control the price of tea. He has been criticized by the Government of Sri Lanka for destroying the Sri Lankan tea trade by fixing the prices of the commodity in India using state power. He was elevated to the rank of Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in January 1986. In October of the same year, he was appointed to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Minister of State for Internal Security. He continued to hold both offices until general elections were called in 1989. The Indian National Congress
government was defeated in the general elections of 1989.
In June 1991, Chidambaram was inducted as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce, a post he held till July, 1992. He was later re-appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce in February 1995 and held the post until April 1996. He made some radical changes in India's export-import (EXIM) policy, while at the Ministry of Commerce.Citation needed
In 1996, Chidambaram quit the Congress party and joined a breakaway faction of the Tamil Nadu
state unit of the Congress party
called the Tamil Maanila Congress
(TMC). In the general elections held in 1996, TMC along with a few national and regional level opposition parties formed a coalition government. The coalition government came as a big break for Chidambaram, who was given the key cabinet portfolio of Finance; this put him in the limelight. The coalition government was a short-lived one (it fell in 1998), but he was reappointed to the same portfolio in the Government formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
in 2004.
In 1998, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) took the reins of the Government for the first time and it was not until May 2004 that Chidambaram would be back in Government. Chidambaram became Minister of Finance again in the Congress party-Communist Party United Progressive Alliance government on 24 May 2004. During the intervening period Chidambaram made some experiments in his political career, leaving the Tamil Maanila Congress
in 2001 and forming his own party, the Congress Jananayaka Peravai
, largely focused on the regional politics of Tamil Nadu
. The party failed to take off into mainstream Tamil Nadu or national politics. Just before the elections of 2004, he merged his party with the mainstream Congress party and when the Congress won the election, he was inducted into the Council of Ministers under the new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as cabinet Minister of Finance.citation needed
On November 30, 2008, he was appointed the Union Home Minister following the resignation of Shivraj Patil
who had come under intense pressure to tender his resignation following a series of terror attacks in India, including the Mumbai attacks
on November 26, 2008. The public response to this move was generally favourable given Chidambaram's reputation for competence and efficiency.
He has been credited with taking the bold decision of prioritizing elections above corporate demands to deploy security for T20-20 matches if IPL.
He was one of the members representing the center when the historic tri-party agreement between Gorkha Hill Council was signed with Mamata Banerjee's effort to end a decade long unrest in the hills of Darjeeling.
In 2009, Chidambaram was re-elected from Sivaganga
Lok Sabha constituency in the Congress victory and retained the Home ministry.
moved to Supreme Court of India, after months of request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into Chidambaram's role in the 2G spectrum scam
. After having not had any favorable response from the Prime Minister he approached the Supreme Court and based on the fair credibility of preliminary evidence and documents , the court agreed to take up the petition.
In the same case an office memorandum from the office of Pranab Mukherjee was presented to the Supreme Court that caused lot of media attention. The court has reserved its order on weather Chidambaram's role in the 2g scam should be investigated if any.
Chidambaram has been accused of hoarding black money abroad and petitioners have challenged Chidambaram in open media and several noted columns to file a defamation case of the allegation was untrue.
He represented the bankrupt American energy giant Enron
, as a senior lawyer
in India
, and is again set to revive its Dhabol power project.
He resigned on 10 July 1992 from the Minister position owning moral responsibility for investing in Fairgrowth, a company allegedly involved in securities scam.
Chidambaram's speeches for assembly elections in Tamil Nadu have been laced with anti-Hindi rhetoric and had questioned the number of Hindi speaking ministers in the NDA government although he himself was the Finance Minister at that time and later on the Home Minister for the country.
In 1997, he announced a controversial Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme
(VDIS
) which granted income-tax defaulters indefinite immunity from prosecution under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, and the Companies Act, 1956 in exchange for self-valuation and disclosure of income and assets. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India
condemned the scheme in his report as abusive and a fraud on the genuine taxpayers of the country.
It should be noted that Chidambaram also represented the controversial British mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources
in the Mumbai High Court until 2003 when he became the finance minister of India. He was also a member of the board of directors of that company.
In August 2006, President
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave permission to enquire into the allegations that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had been holding office of profit
at the time of elections. It has been alleged that they both had been the board members of Rajiv Gandhi Trust Foundation. The Election Commission
has been authorised to enquire into the allegations.
On 7 April 2009, P. Chidambaram was shoed by Jarnail Singh, a Sikh
journalist during a press conference in Delhi
. Singh, who works at the Hindi
daily Dainik Jagaran was dissatisfied with Chidamabaram's answer to a question on the Central Bureau of Investigation
's (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler
on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
case. Later, Jarnail Singh appeared on a few media channels and thanked Chidambaram for taking no action against him and said that he would apologize to Chidambaram if he got a chance to meet him personally. He also said that his method of protest was wrong, but the issue was right. He also declined to take money offered to him by the Shiromani Akali Dal
, a Sikh
political party.
Mr. Chidambaram has been in public conflict with other members of the UPA government on policy issues. There have been several instances where his public positions have exposed confusion in the policy agenda of the UPA government. In the past he has regularly announced plans to end Naxalism in the impending future. The most recent announcement was on Jul 30 2010. Another previous such declaration was on November 10, 2009.
In 2009, Parliamentary elections, it was alleged in 'The Hindu' that Chidambaram has pressurised the Returning Officer of Sivaganga and doctored the poll results in his favour. AIADMK candidate Kannappan who lost in the poll demanded recounting of votes, which was declined.
In December 2010, it was reported that he blamed migrants for the rising rate of crime in New Delhi. He is alleged to have said that Delhi attracts a lot of migrants who live in unauthorized colonies and indulge in behavior that is unacceptable in any modern city. His quote was apparently a reaction to the Sultanpuri gang-rape incident where an 18 year old girl was the victim. This quote attracted a lot of criticism from opposition parties, with UP chief minister Mayawati
alleging that, being the Home Minister, Chidambaram was biased against North Indians.
He is also cricised widely for police lathi charge at midnight on innocent non-violent protestors at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi. The people were protesting, under the leadership of Baba Ramdev against widespread corruption in governance and demanding bringing back of black money to India stashed abroad in foreign banks.
It is also alleged that Chidambaram planned Anna Hazare's arrest to lodge him in Tihar Jail during the recent Anti- Corruption Campaign in India, which sparked off mass protests all over India.
Chidambaram's effectiveness as the Minister of Home Affairs has been questioned on various occasions. Upon taking office, he promised to tackle left-wing Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
. However, there has been no progress in preventing Maoist attacks in India. Chidambaram has been accused of callously sacrificing ill-equipped and unprepared CRPF
jawans repeatedly. On 6 April, 2010 76 CRPF jawans were massacred
in Dantewada
. Besides condemning the attack, Chidambaram's ministry has made no progress in prosecuting the killers.
In 2010, there were several major attacks by Maoists including a 28 May 2010 train derailment that killed over 150 civilians, a 29 June attack that killed 26 policemen and dozens of other attacks that killed scores of security forces and civilians. Maoist attacks have continued in 2011, including the dismemberment of 10 police officials in Chhatisgarh state.
Chidambaram was criticized for his ministry's failure to prevent the 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings, in spite of massive investments in security following the 2008 Mumbai attacks
. Three years after the 2008 attacks, security preparations were found to be inadequate with communications breakdown and failures in modernising, procuring and installing security equipment. Chidambaram defended the agencies under his ministry against the charge of intelligence failure with the response:
He is married to Nalini Chidambaram who is a Senior Advocate
and a tax lawyer practicing in the Madras High Court
and the Supreme Court
, primarily in litigation related to the Central Excise department of the Government of India. He has a son, Karti P. Chidambaram, who graduated with a BBA
degree from the University of Texas, and a Master of Law from Cambridge University. His son is also a politician in the Congress party.
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Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: ப. சிதம்பரம்; born 16 September 1945) is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
The Home Minister, or more properly the Minister for Home Affairs, is a position in the Indian Cabinet, at both State and Union levels. The Home Ministry is one of the most important, powerful and high profile ministry after the Prime Minister...
of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India
Finance Minister of India
The Minister of Finance, also known as the Finance Minister of India is a cabinet position in the Government of India and heads the Ministry of Finance. He drafts the general budget of the country, and is in charge of the national economy. Currently, Pranab Mukherjee holds the charge of finance...
from May 2004 to November 2008. However, after the resignation of Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...
, Chidambaram was made the Home Affairs Minister
Minister for Home Affairs (India)
The Home Minister, or more properly the Minister for Home Affairs, is a position in the Indian Cabinet, at both State and Union levels. The Home Ministry is one of the most important, powerful and high profile ministry after the Prime Minister...
.
Early life and education
Chidambaram was born to Kandanur L. Ct. L. Palaniyappa Chettiar and Mrs. Lakshmi Achi in KanadukathanKanadukathan
Kanadukathan is a panchayat town in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Demographics: India census, Kanadukathan had a population of 4795. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kanadukathan has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of...
in the Sivaganga District
Sivaganga District
Sivaganga District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Sivaganga is the district headquarters. It is bounded by Pudukkottai district on the Northeast, Tiruchirapalli district on the North, Ramanathapuram district on South East, Virudhunagar district...
, in the state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India. He was born into the royal family of Chettinad
Chettinad
Chettinad is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu state, India. Karaikudi is known as the capital of Chettinad , which includes Karaikudi and 74 other villages...
.
Chidambaram did his schooling from the Madras Christian College Hr.Sec.School, Chennai. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
) degree in Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
from The Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College, Chennai
Presidency College is an arts, law and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. Established as the Madras Preparatory School on October 15, 1840 and later, upgraded to a high school and then, graduate college, the Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges...
, he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
) from the Madras Law College currently Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai
Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai
Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai is a law college in Chennai, India that was established in 1891. It was formerly known as Madras Law College and later renamed after Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an Indian freedom fighter and fighter for rights of untouchables and Dalits.The college was in...
, and his Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
class of 1968. He also holds a Masters from Loyola College
Loyola College, Chennai
Loyola College is a Jesuit institution in Chennai, India. The college admits undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce. It is an autonomous institution affiliated with the University of Madras.-History:...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
.
He enrolled as an Advocate in the Chennai High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1984. He has chambers
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:Places*In Canada:**Chambers Township, Ontario*In the United States:**Chambers County, Alabama**Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County**Chambers, Nebraska**Chambers Township, Holt County, Nebraska...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Chennai and practices in the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
and in various High Courts in India.
Political Career
Chidambaram was first elected to the Lok SabhaLok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
(Lower House) of the Indian Parliament
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
from the Sivaganga
Sivaganga (Lok Sabha constituency)
Sivaganga is a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. Indian Home Minister P.Chidambaram represents this constituency.-Assembly segments:...
constituency of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
in general elections held in 1984. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the general elections of 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2004 and 2009. He was a union leader for MRF and worked his way up in the Congress party.
He was the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress
Indian Youth Congress
The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. As of 2006, the Indian Youth Congress has over 245,00,000 members across India, the largest democratic youth organisation in the world....
president and then the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee (TNPCC) unit.
He was inducted into the Union (Indian federal) Council of Ministers in the government headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
on 21 September 1985 as a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Commerce and then in the Ministry of Personnel. His main actions during his tenure in this period was to control the price of tea. He has been criticized by the Government of Sri Lanka for destroying the Sri Lankan tea trade by fixing the prices of the commodity in India using state power. He was elevated to the rank of Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in January 1986. In October of the same year, he was appointed to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Minister of State for Internal Security. He continued to hold both offices until general elections were called in 1989. The Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
government was defeated in the general elections of 1989.
In June 1991, Chidambaram was inducted as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce, a post he held till July, 1992. He was later re-appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce in February 1995 and held the post until April 1996. He made some radical changes in India's export-import (EXIM) policy, while at the Ministry of Commerce.Citation needed
In 1996, Chidambaram quit the Congress party and joined a breakaway faction of the Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
state unit of the Congress party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
called the Tamil Maanila Congress
Tamil Maanila Congress
The Tamil Maanila Congress was a political party in Tamil Nadu. It was started by G K Moopanar by breaking away from the Indian National Congress protesting the decision of the party high command to form an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. After the death of Moopanar, his...
(TMC). In the general elections held in 1996, TMC along with a few national and regional level opposition parties formed a coalition government. The coalition government came as a big break for Chidambaram, who was given the key cabinet portfolio of Finance; this put him in the limelight. The coalition government was a short-lived one (it fell in 1998), but he was reappointed to the same portfolio in the Government formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
in 2004.
In 1998, the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) took the reins of the Government for the first time and it was not until May 2004 that Chidambaram would be back in Government. Chidambaram became Minister of Finance again in the Congress party-Communist Party United Progressive Alliance government on 24 May 2004. During the intervening period Chidambaram made some experiments in his political career, leaving the Tamil Maanila Congress
Tamil Maanila Congress
The Tamil Maanila Congress was a political party in Tamil Nadu. It was started by G K Moopanar by breaking away from the Indian National Congress protesting the decision of the party high command to form an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. After the death of Moopanar, his...
in 2001 and forming his own party, the Congress Jananayaka Peravai
Congress Jananayaka Peravai
Congress Jananayaka Peravai was a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 2001 by ex-minister P...
, largely focused on the regional politics of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. The party failed to take off into mainstream Tamil Nadu or national politics. Just before the elections of 2004, he merged his party with the mainstream Congress party and when the Congress won the election, he was inducted into the Council of Ministers under the new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as cabinet Minister of Finance.citation needed
On November 30, 2008, he was appointed the Union Home Minister following the resignation of Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...
who had come under intense pressure to tender his resignation following a series of terror attacks in India, including the Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
on November 26, 2008. The public response to this move was generally favourable given Chidambaram's reputation for competence and efficiency.
He has been credited with taking the bold decision of prioritizing elections above corporate demands to deploy security for T20-20 matches if IPL.
He was one of the members representing the center when the historic tri-party agreement between Gorkha Hill Council was signed with Mamata Banerjee's effort to end a decade long unrest in the hills of Darjeeling.
In 2009, Chidambaram was re-elected from Sivaganga
Sivaganga
Sivaganga, also known as Sivagangai, is a town and a municipality in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Sivaganga district.-Geography:...
Lok Sabha constituency in the Congress victory and retained the Home ministry.
Achievements
He was one of the members representing the center when the historic tri-party agreement between Gorkha Hill Council was signed with Mamata Banerjee's effort to end a decade long unrest in the hills of Darjeeling.Controversies and Allegations
In September 2011, Subramanian SwamySubramanian Swamy
Subramanian Swamy is an Indian politician, academician, and an economist and presently the President of the Janata Party of India.-Early life and education:...
moved to Supreme Court of India, after months of request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into Chidambaram's role in the 2G spectrum scam
2G spectrum scam
The 2G spectrum scandal involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones...
. After having not had any favorable response from the Prime Minister he approached the Supreme Court and based on the fair credibility of preliminary evidence and documents , the court agreed to take up the petition.
In the same case an office memorandum from the office of Pranab Mukherjee was presented to the Supreme Court that caused lot of media attention. The court has reserved its order on weather Chidambaram's role in the 2g scam should be investigated if any.
Chidambaram has been accused of hoarding black money abroad and petitioners have challenged Chidambaram in open media and several noted columns to file a defamation case of the allegation was untrue.
He represented the bankrupt American energy giant Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, as a senior lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and is again set to revive its Dhabol power project.
He resigned on 10 July 1992 from the Minister position owning moral responsibility for investing in Fairgrowth, a company allegedly involved in securities scam.
Chidambaram's speeches for assembly elections in Tamil Nadu have been laced with anti-Hindi rhetoric and had questioned the number of Hindi speaking ministers in the NDA government although he himself was the Finance Minister at that time and later on the Home Minister for the country.
In 1997, he announced a controversial Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme
VDIS
Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme was a very unconventional but successful step among the Indian economic policies. It would give an opportunity to the income tax defaulters to disclose their undisclosed income at the prevailing tax rates. This scheme would also ensure that the laws relating...
(VDIS
VDIS
Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme was a very unconventional but successful step among the Indian economic policies. It would give an opportunity to the income tax defaulters to disclose their undisclosed income at the prevailing tax rates. This scheme would also ensure that the laws relating...
) which granted income-tax defaulters indefinite immunity from prosecution under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, and the Companies Act, 1956 in exchange for self-valuation and disclosure of income and assets. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is...
condemned the scheme in his report as abusive and a fraud on the genuine taxpayers of the country.
It should be noted that Chidambaram also represented the controversial British mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources
Vedanta Resources
Vedanta Resources plc is a global mining and metals company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and also has mining operations in Australia and Zambia. Its main products are copper, zinc, aluminium, lead and iron ore...
in the Mumbai High Court until 2003 when he became the finance minister of India. He was also a member of the board of directors of that company.
In August 2006, President
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave permission to enquire into the allegations that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had been holding office of profit
Office of profit
An office of profit is a term used in a number of national constitutions to refer to executive appointments. A number of countries forbid members of the legislature from accepting an office of profit under the executive as a means to secure the independence of the legislature and preserve the...
at the time of elections. It has been alleged that they both had been the board members of Rajiv Gandhi Trust Foundation. The Election Commission
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...
has been authorised to enquire into the allegations.
On 7 April 2009, P. Chidambaram was shoed by Jarnail Singh, a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
journalist during a press conference in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. Singh, who works at the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
daily Dainik Jagaran was dissatisfied with Chidamabaram's answer to a question on the Central Bureau of Investigation
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
's (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler
Jagdish Tytler
Jagdish Tytler is a controversial Indian National Congress politician, and former member of Indian Parliament...
on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
1984 anti-Sikh riots
The 1984 Anti-Sikh pogroms / riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre was a sikh genocide there was four days of violence in northern India, particularly Delhi, during which armed mobs killed Sikhs, looted and set fire to Sikh homes, businesses and schools, and attacked gurdwaras, in response to the...
case. Later, Jarnail Singh appeared on a few media channels and thanked Chidambaram for taking no action against him and said that he would apologize to Chidambaram if he got a chance to meet him personally. He also said that his method of protest was wrong, but the issue was right. He also declined to take money offered to him by the Shiromani Akali Dal
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...
, a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
political party.
Mr. Chidambaram has been in public conflict with other members of the UPA government on policy issues. There have been several instances where his public positions have exposed confusion in the policy agenda of the UPA government. In the past he has regularly announced plans to end Naxalism in the impending future. The most recent announcement was on Jul 30 2010. Another previous such declaration was on November 10, 2009.
In 2009, Parliamentary elections, it was alleged in 'The Hindu' that Chidambaram has pressurised the Returning Officer of Sivaganga and doctored the poll results in his favour. AIADMK candidate Kannappan who lost in the poll demanded recounting of votes, which was declined.
In December 2010, it was reported that he blamed migrants for the rising rate of crime in New Delhi. He is alleged to have said that Delhi attracts a lot of migrants who live in unauthorized colonies and indulge in behavior that is unacceptable in any modern city. His quote was apparently a reaction to the Sultanpuri gang-rape incident where an 18 year old girl was the victim. This quote attracted a lot of criticism from opposition parties, with UP chief minister Mayawati
Mayawati
Mayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
alleging that, being the Home Minister, Chidambaram was biased against North Indians.
He is also cricised widely for police lathi charge at midnight on innocent non-violent protestors at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi. The people were protesting, under the leadership of Baba Ramdev against widespread corruption in governance and demanding bringing back of black money to India stashed abroad in foreign banks.
It is also alleged that Chidambaram planned Anna Hazare's arrest to lodge him in Tihar Jail during the recent Anti- Corruption Campaign in India, which sparked off mass protests all over India.
Chidambaram's effectiveness as the Minister of Home Affairs has been questioned on various occasions. Upon taking office, he promised to tackle left-wing Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
The Naxalite-Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between Maoist groups, known as Naxalites or Naxals, and the Indian government.In 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the Naxalites "The single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."...
. However, there has been no progress in preventing Maoist attacks in India. Chidambaram has been accused of callously sacrificing ill-equipped and unprepared CRPF
Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force also known as CRPF is the largest of India's Central Armed Police Forces. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain...
jawans repeatedly. On 6 April, 2010 76 CRPF jawans were massacred
April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada
The 2010 Dantewada Maoist attacks, were a ambush by rebels from the Communist Party of India in Dantewada district, India, killing 76 CRPF policemen and 8 Maoists — the deadliest attack by the Maoists on Indian security forces....
in Dantewada
Dantewada District
Dantewada District, also known as Dantewara District or Dakshin Bastar District , is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bastar Division...
. Besides condemning the attack, Chidambaram's ministry has made no progress in prosecuting the killers.
In 2010, there were several major attacks by Maoists including a 28 May 2010 train derailment that killed over 150 civilians, a 29 June attack that killed 26 policemen and dozens of other attacks that killed scores of security forces and civilians. Maoist attacks have continued in 2011, including the dismemberment of 10 police officials in Chhatisgarh state.
Chidambaram was criticized for his ministry's failure to prevent the 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings, in spite of massive investments in security following the 2008 Mumbai attacks
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamist attackers who came from Pakistan...
. Three years after the 2008 attacks, security preparations were found to be inadequate with communications breakdown and failures in modernising, procuring and installing security equipment. Chidambaram defended the agencies under his ministry against the charge of intelligence failure with the response:
Family
His grand uncles and grand father were the Co-founders of Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, United India Insurance and Annamalai University.He is married to Nalini Chidambaram who is a Senior Advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
and a tax lawyer practicing in the Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
and the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
, primarily in litigation related to the Central Excise department of the Government of India. He has a son, Karti P. Chidambaram, who graduated with a BBA
BBA
BBA may refer to:*Bachelor of Business Administration, degree*Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO against child labour in India*Backyard Brawlers Association, a wrestling promotion based primarily out of Rockville Centre, NY*Balanced Budget Act, U.S...
degree from the University of Texas, and a Master of Law from Cambridge University. His son is also a politician in the Congress party.
External links
- Personal Website of P.Chidambaram
- Profile at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
Others
- P Chidambaram in 2G scam
- Only dumping Chidambaram can save UPA
- Chidambaram favoured 'fraud' Vodafone-Hutchison deal
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