This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Its citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. Tagged since June 2011. It may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. Tagged since June 2011.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jan Lokpal Bill. (Discuss) Proposed since June 2011.

A Lokpal is a proposed ombudsman (Legal Representative) in India. The word has been derived from the Sanskrit words "lok" (people) and "pala" (protector/caretaker). So the word Lokpal means 'caretaker of people'.

History[link]

The concept of a constitutional ombudsman was first proposed by the Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen in parliament in the early 1960s. The first Jan Lokpal Bill was proposed by Mr Shanti Bhushan in 1968 and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through the Rajya Sabha, because of obvious reasons.. Subsequently, lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985( again by Ashoke Kumar Sen when serving as Law Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed.^[1] 42 years after its first introduction, the Lokpal Bill is still pending in India.

The Lokpal Bill provides for filing complaints of corruption against the prime minister, other ministers, and MPs with the ombudsman. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) while recommending the constitution of Lokpal was convinced that such an institution was justified not only for removing the sense of injustice from the minds of deeply affected citizens but also necessary to instill public confidence in the efficiency of the administrative machinery. Following this, the Lokpal Bill was for the first time presented during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1968, and was passed there in 1969.

However while it was pending in the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and so the bill was not passed at that time. The bill was revived several times in the subsequent years, most recently in 2008. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the house, it was referred to some committee for improvements --- a joint committee of parliament, or a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry and before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was dissolved again. Several conspicuous flaws have been cited in the recent draft of the Lokpal Bill. The basic idea of the lokpal is borrowed from the office of ombudsman, which has Administrative Reforms Committee of a lokpal at the Centre, and lokayukta(s) in the states.

Anna Hazare fought for this bill to get passed and it did on Dec 27,2011 around 9:30 with modifications (proposed as the Jan Lokpal Bill). However, Hazare, his team and other political parties claim that the Lokpal Bill passed is weak and would not serve its intended purpose. So the proposed bill by the ruling Congress Party is yet to get acceptance from the Rajya Sabha. As of Dec 29, 2011, the bill has been deferred to the next parliamentary session amid lots of drama and disruption by the LJP, RJD and SP parties. The media at large and the opposition parties have claimed the situation to be staged.^[2]

Jan Lokpal Bill[link]

Anna Hazare's hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, on the second day of his fast

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year.

Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist), the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi and other known people like Anna Hazare, Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mallika Sarabhai are also part of the movement, called India Against Corruption. Its website describes the movement as "an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption." It goes on to state: "We have all come together to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create an effective deterrence against corruption."

Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption crusader, began a fast-unto-death, demanding that this bill, drafted by the civil society, be adopted. The website of the India Against Corruption movement calls the Lokpal Bill of the government an "eyewash" and has on it a critique of that government bill. It also lists the difference between the bills drafted by the government and civil society.

Features of the Jan Lokpal Bill:

1. An institution called Lokpal at the centre and Lokayukta in each state will be set up
2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.
7. But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.
9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

Fundamental duties

1. To judge the cases and make jurisdictions against corruption cases with the Lokpal.
2. To judge whether a case is legal or whether a fake complaint has been made.
3. To potentially impose fines on a fake complaint, or even a short span of jail time, if the case is not proved to be legally true.

Anna Hazare, a Gandhian rights activist, had started a fast unto death at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding the passing of the bill. Hazare called off his hunger strike on the 9th of April 2011 bringing to an end his 98-hour protest after the government issued a gazette notification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of government ministers and civil society activists, including him, to draft a bill for the creation of an effective Lokpal. Thousands of people from all over India, especially the youth, supported Anna Hazare's cause by candle light marches and online campaigns through social media.

Recently yoga guru, Swami Ramdev, was on a fast for this cause for 9 days from 4 to 12 June 2011. He wanted the Government of India to accept various demands which mainly included those related to the Lokpall Bill.Many claim he had his personal interests behind it.

Anna Hazare on the 8th of June, 2011, declared that he will restart his fast unto death on the 16th of August if the Lokpal bill is not passed by the Parliament of India by 15 August, which is the Independence Day of India.^[3] On the 16th of June, the civil society reported that only 15 points of total 71 that they recommended have been agreed to by the Joint Committee consisting of five central ministers. Following differences with the Civil Society, the team of five central ministers decided to forward two drafts of the Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet, one from each side. Anticipating some sort of police action against his fast intended on August 16, social activist Anna Hazare said he would move the Supreme Court to prevent any situation similar to the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters at Ramlila Maidan.

“The government said, ‘we will suppress the agitation of Anna Hazare as had been done in the case of Ramdev’. Is this democracy or autocracy? You cannot suppress.... That is why we will go to the Supreme Court tomorrow,” Hazare told reporters here-“The Constitution has given right to every citizen to lodge a protest. We will launch the agitation from August 16,” he added.^[4]

On 27 December 2011, the Lokpal bill was passed by the Lok Sabha after a day long debate and amendments. The Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy have been kept out of the ambit of the Lokpal. The bill also keeps CBI independent.

See also[link]

• List of politicians in India charged with corruption
• Protests for Jan Lokpal Bill
• current result of lokpal

http://www.fdrindia.org/lokpal/SuggestedAmendmentsToLokpal2011-09-01.pdf http://www.fdrindia.org/lokpal/ConsensusViewsOnLokpalInstitution-2011-05-02.pdf

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200804051550.htm
• India Together – the Lokpal cycle
• Times of India article
• Anna to move SC against possible police crackdown

Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal
Born	(1968-06-16) 16 June 1968 (age 44) Hissar, Haryana
Education	B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering
Alma mater	IIT Kharagpur
Organization	Parivartan (परिवर्तन) Public Cause Research Foundation India Against Corruption
Political movement	2012 Indian anti-corruption movement 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement Right to Information Jan Lokpal Bill
Religion	Hinduism
Children	3
Website
http://www.pcrf.in/

Arvind Kumar Kejriwal (born 16 June 1968) is a retired Indian Revenue Service officer and an Indian social activist fighting for greater transparency in Government.^[1] He was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, for activating India's Right to Information movement at grassroots and social activities to empower the poorest citizens to fight corruption by holding the government answerable to the people.^[2][3][2][2] Kejriwal is also a Saathi (fellow) of the Association for India's Development,^[4] a Global Impact award winning NGO.^[5]

Early life[link]

Arvind Kejriwal was born in a Marwari family in Hissar, Haryana in 1968.^[1] His father was an engineer and he spent most of his childhood living in small northern Indian towns like Sonepat, Mathura and Hissar. He did his schooling from Campus School.^[6] Kejriwal graduated from IIT Kharagpur as a Mechanical engineer in 1989.^[7][8]

Career[link]

Kejriwal joined Tata Steel right after his graduation from IIT Kharagpur. Kejriwal quit his job with Tata Steel in 1992^{[citation needed]} and spent some time working with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, the Ramakrishna Mission in the North-East India and Nehru Yuva Kendra.^[9][10]

Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1995 after qualifying the highly competitive IAS examination.^[10] In February 2006, he voluntarily resigned from the IRS as Joint Commissioner in IT Department.^[11] After voluntary resignation from job, he founded Parivartan, a Delhi based citizens’ movement which works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. In December 2006, Kejriwal along with Manish Sisodia and Abhinandan Sekhri started Public Cause Research Foundation, which works for promoting better local self governance and RTI related campaigns^[12]

Right to Information[link]

He along with Aruna Roy and others, campaigned for the Right to Information Act (RTI), which soon became a silent social movement, Delhi Right to Information Act was passed in 2001^[7] and eventually at national level Indian Parliament passed the RTI in 2005. Thereafter, in July 2006, he spearheaded an awareness campaign for RTI across India.^[13] To motivate others Arvind has now instituted an RTI Award through his organisation.^[14] Kejriwal has been using RTI in corruption cases in many government departments including the Income Tax department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Delhi Electricity Board and others.^[9][15]

Jan Lokpal Bill[link]

As a member of India Against Corruption (IAC) Kejriwal is an active participant in the movement for the enactment of Jan Lokpal Bill. He is considered a key figure along with social activist Anna Hazare.^[16] On August 16, 2011, Key members of the India Against Corruption including Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, and Manish Sisodia were arrested four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike by Hazare.^[17] Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for Delhi Police, said police arrested Hazare under a legal provision that bans public gatherings and protests at the park in Delhi where Hazare was planning to begin his hunger strike. Activists were later released same day although they spent two more days in the Tihar jail negotiating conditions put on protest.^[18] Kejriwal left the jail on August 18 and the protests started the following day from Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.^[19] After twelve days of protests and many discussions between the government and the activists, Parliament passed a resolution to consider three points in drafting of Lokpal bill.^[20]

Controversies[link]

Swami Agnivesh a former colleague of Kejriwal in Team Anna accused Arvind Kejriwal of diverting money from India Against Corruption (IAC) fund to his (Kejriwal's) own NGO. Kejriwal allegedly deposited Rs 70-80 lakh from IAC fund in his own NGO. The money was raised as the donation to IAC.^[21] Mr. Kejriwal responded to the allegation that the IAC was a "movement" not an institution and that PCRF was working as a secretariat for IAC.^[22]

In an article published in the Hindu newspaper in 22 August 2011, Booker prize winning author and civil rights activist Arundhati Roy alleged that an NGO run by Kejriwal received a donation of USD 400,000 from the Ford Foundation in the past 3 years.^[23] Arvind Kejriwal has since admitted that the NGO Kabir he runs along with Manish Sisodia, did receive funds from the New York-based Ford Foundation, but pointed out that it had stopped about two years ago. Kejriwal dismissed the view held by some which suggested that Ford Foundation has historically been linked to CIA, the US intelligence agency that used it for channeling funds to its recipients in foreign countries.^[24][25]

Personal life[link]

Kejriwal is married to Sunita, who is an IRS officer his batchmate from National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.^[8] They live just outside Delhi with their two children.^[10] and presently Additional Director in Serious Fraud Investigation Office.

Awards[link]

• 2004: Ashoka Fellow, Civic Engagement.^[9]
• 2005: 'Satyendra K. Dubey Memorial Award', IIT Kanpur for his campaign for bringing transparency in Government.^[7]
• 2006: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Eminent Leadership.^[2][3]
• 2006: CNN-IBN, 'Indian of the Year' in Public Service^[26]
• 2009: Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur for Eminent Leadership.^[1]
• 2010: Policy Change Agent of the Year, The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence along with Aruna Roy.^[27]
• 2011: NDTV Indian of the Year along with Anna Hazare^[28]

Arvind Kejariwal has also won an IIM Gold Medal.

Books[link]

The Right to Information : Vyawharik Margdarshika - Co-Author - Vishnu Rajgadia, Published by Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi. in the year 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Slipper Attack on Kejriwal[link]

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal was attacked by a youth with a slipper during attending a program in Jhulelal Park Lucknow, India under India Against Corruption (IAC) anti-graft campaign.^[29]

After the incident, the accused was caught by the IAC volunteers and handed over to the police. Later, Mr. Kejriwal asked that the accused be released and did not file any FIR against him.^[30]

The accused was identified as Jitendra Pathak of Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district, who worked for the Indian National Congress from 2006-2009 and is a former member of Congress Sewa Dal.^[31] He was not a mere party worker but was responsible for key areas in Jhansi. As per the accused acceptance, he considers Rahul Gandhi as his role model.^[32][33]

Kejriwal's attacker Jitendra Pathak has been sacked from his job. He is working in a private construction company Ansh Project Service, Lucknow.^[34] On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to the chairman of the company to take back their decision and to retain the accused. As per Kejriwal's ideology, violence can be stopped by non-violence only and taking Jitendra's job is violence against the accused and his family.^[35]

In a Sting operation done by India TV in Lucknow, the slipper threatened a bomb attack during Anna Hazare's anti-graft movement in Uttar Pradesh .^[36]

See also[link]

• Right to Information Act
• Jan Lokpal Bill
• India Against Corruption
• 2012 Indian anti-corruption movement
• 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arvind Kejriwal

• 'Parivartan' Official website
• 'Arvind Kejriwal' website
• 'Public Cause Research Foundation' Official website
• 'The Insurgent' by MEHBOOB JEELANI, The Caravan
• Arvind Kejriwal Interview BBC Hindi
• Arvind Kejriwal Interview BBC Hindi - Audio
• Jaago Re! "Usse kuchh farak padega kya?": Arvind Kejriwal on fighting corruption in India
• An Interview with Arvind Kejriwal
• 'Lokraj Andolan'
• 'India Against Corruption'
• 'Valmik Thapar Interviews Arvind Kejriwal'
• Follow Jan Lokpal Bill Movement

Kavya Madhavan
Native name	കാവ്യ മാധവൻ
Born	Kavya Madhavan (1984-09-19) September 19, 1984 (age 27) Nileshwaram, Kasargod, Kerala, India
Residence	Thammanam, Kochi, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Minu, Karthika
Ethnicity	Malayali
Citizenship	India
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1991 - present
Notable work(s)	Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan, Perumazhakkalam, Mizhi Randilum, Khaddama, Bhaktha Janangalude Sradhakku
Spouse	Nischal Chandra (2009-2011)
Parents	P. Madhavan Shyamala
Relatives	Midhun (brother)

Kavya Madhavan (Malayalam: കാവ്യ മാധവന്‍) is an Indian film actress who works in Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in Pookkalam Varavayi (1991) as a child artist. As a heroine Kavya's debut film was Lal Jose's Chandranudikkunna Dikhil(1999) while she was in the ninth standard. It was a super hit and from then on there was no looking back. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress twice, for her performances in the films Perumazhakkalam (2004) and Khaddama (2010).

Background[link]

Kavya was born on September 19, 1984 in the village of Nileshwaram in Kasargod district, Kerala, India, to P. Madhavan and Shyamala. She attended Nileswaram GLP School and entered the film industry as a child artist. She learned dancing during her school days and participated in competitions. She was a Kalathilakam in a Sub District Schools Youth Festival.^[1]

Movie career[link]

She first appeared as a child in Kamal's film Pookkalam Varavayi (1991). Her talent was soon recognized, and she was offered other projects such as Pavam IA Ivachan (1994) and Azhakiya Ravanan (1996). When she was in ninth standard, she got an offer to play as a heroine in Lal Jose's film Chandranudikkunna Dikhil, which became a super hit. After her leading role, she became popular in the Malayalam film industry. It has been claimed that she was the busiest female actress in Malayalam. She and Dileep are sometimes referred to as the Golden pair. The Dileep-Kavya pairing has produced several big hits, including Chandranudikkunna Dikhil (1999) and Meesa Madhavan (2002). In 2010 the pair acted in the film Pappy Appacha. Kavya’s films include Mizhi Randilum, Dhosth, Madhuranombarakattu, Sadanandante Samayam and Meesa Madhavan, of which the last movie earned record collections in the Malayalam film industry. Her other films include Chakkara Muthu, Iruvattam Manavatti, Annorikkal, Kochi Rajavu, Aparichithan, Perumazhakkalam, Gowrisankaram, Runway, Athisayan, Thilakkam and many more. She has acted in a few Tamil films; Kasi was her first film in Tamil that performed well at the box office. She has also acted in some more Tamil films, En Mana Vaanil and Sadhu Miranda. She has acted with various superstars in the Malayalam industry including Mohanlal, Mammootty, Jayaram, Suresh Gopi and Dileep. She also wrote lyric for the song 'En Khalbillulloru Pennaanu' for the film One Way Ticket.^[2]

Personal life[link]

She was married to Nishal Chandra on February 5, 2009 at Kollur Mookambika Temple.^[3] After the marriage she went to Kuwait to stay with her husband.^[4] However, she returned home in June the same year and did not go back thereafter. She filed a divorce petition with the Family Court at Ernakulam on July 24, 2010.^[3][5] Kavya and Nishal had appeared before the Ernakulam Family Court on May 25, 2011 and expressed their willingness, for a mutual divorce. She was granted divorce by court on May 30, 2011.

Awards and achievements[link]

Kerala State Film Awards

• 2004: Best Actress - Perumazhakkalam
• 2010: Best Actress - Khaddama

Kerala Film Critics Awards

• 2000: Second Best Actress - Chandranudikkunna Dikhil
• 2001: Second Best Actress - Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal
• 2003: Second Best Actress - Mizhi Randilum
• 2005: Best Actress - Anandabhadram
• 2010: Best Actress - Khaddama

Asianet Film Awards

• 2000: Special Jury Award - Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal, Madhuranombarakattu
• 2002: Best Star Pair - Meesa Madhavan
• 2002: Best Actress - Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan
• 2004: Special Jury Award Actress - Perumazhakkalam
• 2009: Best Actress - Banaras
• 2011: Best Actress - Khaddama

Vanitha-Surya TV Film Awards

• 2004: Best Actress - Mizhi Randilum
• 2006: Best Actress - Anandabhadram
• 2011: Best Actress - Khaddama

Mathrubhumi Film Awards

• 2002: Best Popular Actress
• 2002: Best Star Pair - (Dileep and Kavya)
• 2003: Second Best Actress - Mizhi Randilum
• 2004: Special Jury Award Actress - Perumazhakkalam
• 2007: Best Popular Actress
• 2009: Best Actress - Banaras
• 2011: Best Actress - Khaddama

Amrita TV FEFKA Film Awards

• 2010: Best Actress - Khaddama
• 2011: Best Popular Actress - All Films (2011)

Kerala Film Audience Awards

• 2001: Monisha Award
• 2003: Best Actress – Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan

Other Awards

• 2000: Bharathan Award - Navagatha Prathibha Chandranudikkunna Dikhil
• 2003: Fourth Raju Pilakkad Chalachithra Award - Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan
• 2007: Sathyan Memorial Award for Best Actress - Nadiya Kollappetta Rathri
• 2010: Jaihind TV Film Award for Best Actress - Khaddama
• 2011: Bharath Murali Award - Khaddama
• 2011: Sathyan Award ^[6]
• 2011: Lalitha-Padmini-Ragini Memorial Award^[7]
• 2011 Viewers Choice Award for Best Actress - Khaddama^[8]
• 2011: Reporter TV Film Award for Best Actress - Khaddama
• 2011: Surya TV Film Awards for Best Actress - Khaddama
• 2011: Ramu Kariat Film Awards for Best Actress - Khaddama
• 2011: Manappuram Kanyaka Minnale Film Awards for Young Megastar Female
• 2011: Thikkurissy Foundation Film Awards for Best Actress - Khaddama

Notable films[link]

Upcoming films[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kavya Madhavan at the Internet Movie Database

Meera nandan
Born	Meera Nandakumar (1989-11-26) November 26, 1989 (age 22)[1] Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Years active	2007–present

Meera Nandan (Malayalam: മീര നന്ദന്‍; born Meera Nandakumar on 26 November 1989)^[1] is an Indian film actress and a television anchor.

Early life[link]

She did her schooling in Bhavan's Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara,near Elamakkara temple. She is currently studying at Presidency College...

Career[link]

She started her career in 2007 by co-hosting the popular reality-based singing competition Idea Star Singer on Asianet Television with Ranjini Hariadas. She made her film debut in Malayalam cinema the following year, playing the female lead in Mulla.^[2]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Meera Nandan at the Internet Movie Database

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2012)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Too biased an article, with no sufficient details on his corrupt terms as Chief Minister of Bihar. The term of his Chief Ministership was called "Jungle Raj". Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (May 2012)

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Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav at a political rally in January 2007, at Kesariya, Bihar, India.
Ex Minister of Railways Government of India MP-Lok Sabha
In office 24 May 2004 to 22 May 2009
Preceded by	Nitish Kumar
Succeeded by	Mamata Banerjee
Constituency	Saran
Personal details
Born	(1948-06-11) 11 June 1948 (age 64)[1] Gopalganj, Bihar[2])
Political party	RJD
Spouse(s)	Rabri Devi
Residence	10, Circular Road, Patna 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi-11
Religion	Hindu
Website	rashtriyajanatadal.com
As of September 25, 2006 Source: [Lok Sabha members' biodata [3]]

Lalu Prasad Yadav (Devanāgarī: लालू प्रसाद यादव) is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. He is a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha from the Saran constituency in Bihar.

He entered politics during his student days at Patna University, and he was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 1977 as a Janata party candidate. At the age of 29 he was one of its youngest members of Parliament.^[4]

He is famous for his charismatic leadership and mass appeal,^[5][6] and has been criticized for caste-based politics.^[6] and the corruption cases against him.^[7]

Yadav served as the Chief Minister of Bihar from 1990 till 1997, when he resigned following escalating corruption charges in the Fodder Scam. From 1997 to 2005, with brief interruptions, his wife Rabri Devi was the Chief Minister. Her political opponents often accused her as having served as his "surrogate."^[8] His tenure as Chief Minister of the state has been criticized for lawlessness and has been termed as the Jungle Raj.^[9]

Biography[link]

Lalu Prasad Yadav was born in Gopalganjj district of Bihar. His father's name is Shri Yadav Kundan Rai and his mother's name is Shrimati Marchiya Devi^[4]. He holds a degree in Bachelor of Laws(LLB) and a master's in Political science from B. N. College,under Patna University. He turned down Patna University's Honorary Doctorate in 2004.^[10] Lalu Prasad Yadav has done his schooling from 1st standard to 7th standard, at Bihar Military Police No-5 middle school. Yadav married Rabri Devi on June 1, 1973.^[4] They have seven daughters and two sons.^[11]

Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the Chief Minister of Bihar two times, first for a term of five years from 10 March 1990 to 3 April 1995 and then for a term of three years from 4 April 1995 to 25 July 1997. Lalu Prasad Yadav also served as the Railway Minister of India from 2004 to 2009. He is member of Parliament of India for Saran(Chhapra) and National President of Rashtriya janata Dal (RJD).

Political career[link]

Lalu Prasad Yadav entered politics as General Secretary of the Patna University Students' Union in 1970. He led the student movement inspired by Jai Prakash Narayan, Raj Narain, Karpoori Thakur and Satyendra Narayan Sinha. The former Chief Minister of Bihar and the then President of Bihar State^[12] Janata Party, Satyendra Narayan Sinha supported him as a candidate for the Lok Sabha and campaigned for him.^[13][14] He was elected as a member of the 9th Lok Sabha on a Janata Party ticket at the age 29, becoming one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament at the time.

In a span of 10 years, Yadav became a formidable force in Bihar State Politics. During the Indian general elections in 1989 and state assembly elections, he successfully led the National Front coalition in Bihar. It was, therefore, no surprise that he was elected the Chief Minister leaving behind Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister from the same party, when it came to power in the 1990 Assembly elections. The World Bank lauded his party for its work in the 1990s on the economic front.^[15]

A report was published by the BBC news in 1996 according to which the police unearthed a Rs. 950 crore (US$ 267 Million), Fodder Scam in Bihar, which allegedly involved Yadav and the State's leading bureaucrats and politicians, albeit the probe itself was ordered by him. He claimed it to be an Opposition conspiracy to stop his political growth.^[16] The fodder scam forced Yadav to resign from the office of Chief Minister and he made his wife, Rabri Devi, his successor as the state's Chief Minister.^[17] In May 2012, Lalu Prasad Yadav envisaged Hamid Ansari, currently the Vice-President, as a presidential candidate. ^[18]

Rashtriya Janata Dal[link]

RJD Flag

Yadav formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 1997, after breaking away from the Janata Dal. According to Limca Book of Records, he is the longest serving president of an Indian Political Party.^[19] He remained in power in Bihar for more than one and a half decades. In November 2005 elections, his party, the RJD, could win just 54 seats, which put his party in third place, after the Janata Dal United (JDU) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nitish Kumar led coalition, consisting of JD(U) and BJP, came to power. In the 2010 elections, RJD tally was reduced to just 22 seats whereas the ruling alliance claimed a record 206 out of the 243 Assembly seats.^[20]

Tenure as a Union Minister[link]

Yadav was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Chhapra and Madhepura seats of Bihar. He was able to defeat the high profile BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Chhapra and the JD(U) president Sharad Yadav from Madhepura. He became the railway minister in the UPA Government. Later, he gave up the Madhepura seat.

Yadav banned plastic cups from being used to serve tea at railway stations and ordered that they be replaced by kulhars (earthen cups), to generate more employment in rural areas.^[21] Later, he also said that he had plans to introduce buttermilk^[22] and khādī.^[23] In June 2004, he announced that he would get on the railway himself to inspect its problems and went on to board the Patna railway station at midnight.^[24]

When he took over, the Indian Railways was a loss-making organization. In the 4 years under his leadership, it made a cumulative total profit of Rs. 25,000 crores (US $5.2 billion).

He left passenger fares untouched and found several other profitable sources of revenue for the Railways. He also improved on his first year's performance by stating a profit of 14,000 crores with decreased freight and unchanged passenger fares in 2006. Then, in the 2007 budget, he increased the profit level to 20,000 crores with the introduction of cushion seats in all unreserved compartments. In 2008, profits were 25,000 crores (equals US $6.25 billion @ $1~Rs.40)

Well known schools of management were interested in Yadav's leadership in managing the turnaround (with more or less the same IAS officers & the same workforce who worked under the previous ministers). He went to and addressed over a hundred students from Harvard, Wharton and others in Hindi. He has received invitations from 8 Ivy League schools for lectures.^[25] The turnaround of the Indian Railways is now being studied by the students of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.^[26] Prof G. Raghuram, a faculty member, IIM-A, has already conducted a detailed study on the Railways turnaround.^[27]

In August 2008, CNN-IBN alleged that Yadav had misused his position as the Union Railway Minister to help his relatives acquire land.^[28] Earlier Railway ministers and his political opponents Mamata Banerjee & Nitish Kumar have raised doubts over Lalu's achievements.^[29]

In popular culture[link]

Recently, a very popular book "Garibon ke Masiha Evam Jan Nayak - Lalu Prasad Yadav" was launched by renowned author and writer Sri Sanjay Suman .Yadav has a sizable fan following in Bollywood, which includes actors Sunil Shetty and Raza Murad and directors Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahesh Bhatt to name a few. Indian actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who is a political opponent of Yadav, once said, "Had Yadav not been a politician he could have been an actor".^[30] Mahesh Bhatt has gone to the extent of saying that Yadav deserves to become Prime Minister of India.^[31] A Bollywood movie titled Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav was released in 2004. Though his name appeared in the title, the movie was not about him, but had characters named Padmashreee, Laloo, Prasad and Yadav, however the politician made a guest appearance in it.

These incidences are viewed by some people as an attempt by the mainstream media to make deliberate fun of Yadav's accent although the movie was not a big hit.

Criticisms and controversies[link]

Corruption allegations[link]

Yadav has been charged in several corruption cases,^[32] the most infamous being the "Fodder Scam" in which about Rs. 950 crores (US $211.85 million) were siphoned off from the animal husbandry department. Laloo Yadav has been an accused in many of the 63-odd cases filed. He has been remanded to custody on multiple occasions because of the number of cases. Over 64 people have been convicted in the case. "Lalu accused in six fodder scam cases". Outlook. April 25, 2005. http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=294484. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 

"The ride to Ranchi". Frontline. December 2001. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1825/18250430.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-29.  Yadav was first sent to "Judicial remand" (Bihar Military Police guest house, Patna) on July 30, 1997, for 134 days.^[33] On October 28, 1998, he was again sent to the same guest house for 73 days. When the Supreme Court of India took exception to his guest house stay, he had also moved to the Beur jail in Patna. He was later remanded for 11 days on April 5, 2000, in a disproportionate assets case. He surrendered along with his wife, Rabri Devi, and was sent to the Beur Jail.^[33] Due to the proceedings in the fodder scam, Yadav was remanded for a day in Beur jail on November 28, 2000.

On November 26, 2001, Yadav was again remanded, in a case related to the fodder scam.^[34] He accused the NDA of creating a conspiracy against him. On October 1, 2004, the Supreme Court of India served a notice to Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi, on the fodder scam. This was in response to a petition, which alleged that they have been interfering with late in the investigation. Since Laloo Yadav is currently a member of the Union Government at Delhi, the CBI has been accused of dragging its feet on the issue.^[35]

Accusations against the BJP[link]

On August 5, 2004, Yadav claimed that L. K. Advani, a senior BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition was an accused in a conspiracy to kill Muhammad Ali Jinnah and described him as an 'international absconder'. On September 14, 2004, Lalu asked L. K. Advani to come clean on 'his involvement' in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.^[36]

On September 28, 2004, Lalu alleged Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the then Union Rural Minister, of having sold 55,000 tonnes of wheat in the name of drought relief distribution in AP. "A CBI probe will be initiated to find the truth" he said.^[37]

Lalu's favour for his brothers-in-law[link]

Although he has maintained a good relationship with the media and they were showing his holy parade in the chief minister's house in patna and the pictures of cows he owned and feed on govt. money just to get sheer publicity from the lower section of the society and the onion bread drama to cheer the lower section without any benefit to them from govt. But when media stopped giving him bed publicity he started crying against media and times he has accused the media of being unfair, going so far as to threaten to sue certain media outlets for defamation.^[38] Although the Media bias,^[39] he and his supporters mainly two brother in laws are notoriously famous in the city for capturing girls and the property of the people in patna and his tenure as the chief minister of bihar is also termed as Jungle Raj (uncivilized kingdom). the most recent being the last Bihar State Assembly Elections he lost all the seats and even his most favourite constituency, one thing is noted that when he won the second and third election in bihar he said that the Jinn (divine Soul) came out of the ballet box and gave him the vote although the mandate of the state was different.^[40]

Positions held[link]

• 1977: Elected to the 6th Lok Sabha at the age of 29.
• 1980–1989: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly (two terms).
• 1989: Becomes the leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chairman, Pustakalaya Committee, Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Re-elected to the 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term).
• 1990–1995: Member of the Bihar Legislative Council.

Yadav together with Ram Vilas Paswan and Amar Singh at a party rally in Mumbai during the 2009 general elections.

• 1990–1997: Chief Minister of Bihar.
• 1995–1998: Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
• 1996: Lalu's name springs up in a major scam.
• 1997: parts with the Janata Dal and forms the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
• 1998: Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term).
• 1998–1999: Member, General Purposes Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• 2004: Re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (4th term). Appointed Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Railways. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha with his party emerging as a key member of the UPA.
• 2009: Re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha (5th term).

See also[link]

• List of Chief Ministers of Bihar
• List of politicians in India charged with corruption

References and footnotes[link]