Tiruchi Siva is a member 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 ...
representing
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 ...
in 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 parliament. He is from the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...
party, and was elected in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2014 and 2020. He is a speaker and a writer.
Career
As a student, he was imprisoned for one year under the
Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during
the Emergency of 1976. In 1978 he was an organizer for the
DMK District Student’s Wing. Between 1982 and 1992 he served as the Deputy Secretary of the
DMK Youth Wing and later serving as the Secretary of the same between 1992 and 2007. He was the Propaganda Secretary of the
DMK.
Has written articles in the Party’s official organ Murasoli and other magazines.
In Parliament
Historic Private Member Bill to Protect Rights of Transgenders
On 24 April 2015, Mr. Siva created history when he introduced a
private member's bill, the
Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014
The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 is a proposed Act of the Parliament of India which seeks to end the discrimination faced by transgender people in India. The Bill was passed by the upper house Rajya Sabha on 24 April 2015. It was ...
, and after much discussion the Bill was put on a voice vote and was unanimously passed by 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 ...
. This was the first
Private member's bill to be passed by any house in 36 years and by the Upper House in 45 Years. The Bill was passed with the intent to help transgender people get benefits akin to those in scheduled castes and tribes, and in taking steps to see that they are not denied enrollment in schools or denied jobs in government as well as working to ensure they are protected from sexual harassment.
Fourth Term in Parliament - 2014-2020
On Women's Day 8 March 2018, Mr.Siva asked the Government to exempt sanitary napkins from GST net.
Raising a Special Mention in Rajya Sabha on
NEET
NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", refers to a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use ha ...
Exams, he raised the concern that the two bills passed unanimously by 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 ...
which was sent for Presidential Assent was still pending with the Ministry of Home and Health which is a bad situation for the Federal Set Up of the Country.
Participating in the Debate on Passage of
Citizenship Amendment Bill in
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 ...
on 11 Dec 2019, he strongly opposed the bill, raising several questions including why Minorities from Sri Lanka were excluded and why the Bill targets only Muslims which has created a sense of apprehension amongst the Muslims in India.
On 10 December 2019, He was awarded the Best Parliamentarian of the Year (Rajya Sabha) at the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards - 2019.Vice President
M Venkaiah Naidu presented the award for his exemplary contribution to Rajya Sabha.
Fifth Term in Parliament
On 2 March 2020, he was re-nominated to
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 ...
by the
DMK President
M K Stalin. On 18 March 2020, Mr.Siva became the first DMK MP to serve a fourth term in Rajya Sabha.
During this time, he was interviewed by Mohammed Al Sheikh Bin Suleihad, a relatively unknown political journalist from Afghanistan working for Talk Tamil News. He discussed important issues related to controversial topics. Later Talk Tamil and Suleihad published an article faming him and noted:
"he is the only one in India who's worthy of PM..."
Other Prominent Posts
He has also served as a member of the Court of the Jawaharlal Nehru University from September 2009 to May 2012 and was the Vice-President of the Parliamentary Forum on Artisans and Craftspeople from April 2013 to July 2013.
Membership in Various Committees in his Five Terms
First Term (Lok Sabha) - 1996 - 1997
*Member, Committee on External Affairs.
*Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
*Member, Select Committee on Womens Reservation Bill
*Member, Committee on Public Undertakings
Second Term (Rajya Sabha) - 2000 - 2002
*Member, Committee on Communications
*Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information Technology
*Member, Select Committee on Broadcasting Bill
Third Term (Rajya Sabha) - 2007 - 2013
*Aug 2007-May 2008 Member, Committee on Water Resources
*Aug 2007-Aug 2010 Member, Spices Board
*Aug 2007-May 2009 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways
*May 2008-May 2009 Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
*May 2008-Sep 2009 Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation
*May 2008-May 2009 and Aug 2010-Aug 2011 Member, Committee on Home Affairs
*May 2008-Sep 2010 Member, Committee of Privileges
*Jun 2008 Jul 2013, General Purposes Committee
*Aug 2009-Aug 2010 Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice
*Sep 2009 onwards Member, Court of the Jawaharlal Nehru University
*Dec 2009-Jul 2010 Member, Select Committee to examine the Commercial Division of High Courts Bill,
*May 2010-May 2011 Member, Committee on Public Accounts
*Jul 2010-Jul 2013 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation
*Aug 2010-Jul 2013 Chairman, Committee on Industry
*Sep 2010 Jul 2013 Member, Committee on Ethics
*Mar 2011-Jul 2013 Member, JPC to examine matters relating to allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum
*Jun 2012-Nov 2012 Member, Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011
*Aug 2012 onwards Chairman, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice
Fourth Term (Rajya Sabha) - 2014 - 2020
*Aug 2014 Onwards Member, General Purposes Committee
*May 2016 Onwards Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Cast and Scheduled Tribes
*Sep 2014 Onwards Member, Committee on Human Resource Development
*Dec 2014 Onwards Member, Select Committee of Rajya Sabha to the Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014
*Mar 2015 Onwards Member, Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015
*Dec 2015 Onwards Member, Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill
[https://archive.india.gov.in/govt/rajyasabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=2046 ]
Works published
(in Tamil)
* ''Kutravaali Koondil Socrates''
* ''Thalainagiril Tamilan Kural''
References
External links
Profile on Lok Sabha websiteFaceBook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siva, Tiruchi
Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu
1954 births
Living people
Politicians from Tiruchirappalli
India MPs 1996–1997
Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu
People from Pudukkottai district
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians