DMK's Radhika Selvi: from gangster's widow to minister
May 16, 2007 - 3:38:14 PM
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In a noteworthy intervention that she made in parliament, she said, 'It has become an accepted practice in some draconian states to liquidate its opponents. In this motherland of ahimsa and dharma, heinous crimes are carried out, ruining the lives of innocent families of victims of such crimes. So my prayer is that at least now, this august house should use its enormous powers to stop such heinous crimes and also take adequate steps to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and render justice.'
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Chennai, May 16 - Then recently widowed, she campaigned in Tamil Nadu with a newborn baby under a blazing sun and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 with a big margin. Meet Radhika Selvi, the new face of the DMK in the central government.
The 31-year-old, who has studied up to Class 10, will make an entry at a time when DMK's Harvard-trained Dayanidhi Maran has resigned as minister following a feud in party patriarch M. Karunanidhi's family.
To be sworn in on May 18 as a minister of state, life seems to have come full circle for Selvi who had in August 2001 married Pannayar Venkatesh, said to be a gangster with clout in the southern districts as well as Chennai.
In September 2003, Venkatesh was pulled out of his flat and brutally killed by police even as his pregnant wife and neighbours watched. Hailing from a well-off Nadar family in Tuticorin district, Venkatesh was wanted in more than 20 cases, including extortion and holding of kangaroo courts. His killing is said to have angered the Nadar community.
The Nadar factor is important, as by promoting Selvi to the union cabinet, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi has tried to appease the community while also putting in place actor Sarath Kumar, a former member of the party.
The DMK has been having trouble for the last few years from Sarath Kumar, who is a Nadar leader. Just before the May 2006 assembly elections, he had switched to the rival AIADMK.
Soon after the DMK won the assembly polls, he and his wife quit the AIADMK and attempted to return to his former party. Unsuccessful, Sarath Kumar recently announced a new political party for the Nadars.
Selvi is said to be close to Rajathi Ammal, Karunanidhi's wife, who too comes from the Nadar community. The DMK has thus tried to kill two birds with one stone by pushing Selvi.
An MP from Tiruchendur, Selvi's profile mentions that she is a javelin thrower and kabaddi player. During her stint in parliament though, she has been more involved with health issues though.
In a noteworthy intervention that she made in parliament, she said, 'It has become an accepted practice in some draconian states to liquidate its opponents. In this motherland of ahimsa and dharma, heinous crimes are carried out, ruining the lives of innocent families of victims of such crimes. So my prayer is that at least now, this august house should use its enormous powers to stop such heinous crimes and also take adequate steps to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book and render justice.'
Her portfolio is yet to be decided, but it is likely to be social justice, sources here say.
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