Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar (born 13 July 1949) is an Indian politician. He was the State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee till 2 February 2019 and former secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

(INC) party. His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

. Ramachandran founded the

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief mi ...

(AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...

election in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. 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 MGR cabinet, holding portfolios that included Industries, Housing Board, Excise and Handlooms. Later, he became a member of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

– the lower house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

– when he won the erstwhile

Pudukottai Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...

Lok Sabha constituency. He served as Union Minister of state for shipping and later for telecommunications and information technology. Thirunavukkarasar joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(BJP) for a brief period and was also a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

– the upper house of the Parliament of India – from the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. He is a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, representing Tiruchirappalli constituency in the

(the lower house of India's Parliament).

Early life

S. Thirunavukkarasar was born in Theeyathoor,

Pudukkottai district Pudukkottai District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Pudukkottai is the district headquarters. It is also known colloquially as ''Pudhugai.'' Pudukkottai district is bounded on the northeast and e ...

, Tamil Nadu on 13 July 1949. He did his M.A., B.L. at

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

, Chennai and Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi.

Career

Thirunavukkarasar was elected from Aranthangi legislative assembly constituency at each election from 1977 to 1996. He resigned his seat on 15 October 1999.,he started Anna Puratchi Thalaivar Thamilga Munnetra Kazhagam with K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran in 1991, it merged with AIADMK in 1996. He later started a new party called MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 1996 due to a rift with Jayalalitha, in the legislative assembly elections in Tamil Nadu 2001 MGR ADMK had put up three candidates (supported by NDA), out of whom two were elected. The party received 129 474 votes and in 2002 MGR ADMK merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).He won the Pudukottai Lok Sabha Constituency in 1999 and was Union minister of state for Shipping and later, Communication and Information Technology til 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 Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

and participated in the selection of Jana Reddy as leader of the opposition. Thirunavukkarasar was invited to inaugurate the Tamil Nadu chapter of Indian National Congress Overseas in New York, US.

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 Limited (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 The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT) ( ta, தமிழ்நாடு அரசு தொழில் முன்னேற்றக் கழகம் (வரையறுக்கப்பட்டது) ...

(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).

Congress relationship

When Sonia Gandhi took over the presidency of Congress Party in 1998. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, MGRADMK founded by Thirunavukkarasar alligined with the Congress to face the polls. Thirunavukkarasar contested the

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) in ...

Lok Sabha constituency when several congress stalwarts refused to contest the election. Recently in the year 2017 he was appointed as the State President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and has in the past served as the secretary of the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

from 2010 to 2017.

Film career

Thirunavukkarasar briefly worked as film distributor. He scripted and produced the film ''

Maruthu Pandi ''Maruthu Pandi'' is a 1990 Indian Tamil language action drama film directed by Manoj Kumar. The film stars Ramki, Seetha and Nirosha, with Nassar, S. S. Chandran, Senthil, Kovai Sarala, Raghavi and Pradeep Shakthi playing supporting roles. T ...

'' (1990) and appeared in lead role in ''

Agni Paarvai ''Agni Paarvai'' is a 1992 Tamil language crime film directed by P. Madhavan. The film stars Su. Thirunavukkarasar, Nizhalgal Ravi, Saranya Ponvannan, Ramkumar and Anju. The film, produced by S. Selvarethinam, had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja ...

'' (1992). *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992)

Personal life

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

References

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

External links

Profile on Rajya Sabha website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirunavukkarasar, Su. Living people 1949 births Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Tamil Nadu All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Deputy Speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Sri Venkateswara University alumni People from Pudukkottai district Tamil Nadu MLAs 1996–2001 United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election India MPs 2019–present Tamil Nadu MLAs 1991–1996 Tamil Nadu MLAs 1985–1989