Ramakrishna Hegde
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (Consider using more specific cleanup instructions.) Please help improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2009) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) |
| Ramakrishna M. Hegde | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | R. Gundu Rao |
| Succeeded by | S. R. Bommai |
| Constituency | Uttara Kannada |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29, 1926 Siddapur, Uttara Kannada |
| Died | 12 January 2004 (aged 77) Bengaluru |
| Political party | Janata Dal, Lokashakti |
| Spouse(s) | Shakuntala Hegde |
Ramakrishna Mahabaleshwar Hegde (Kannada: ರಾಮಕೃಷ್ಣ ಹೆಗಡೆ) (b. August 29, 1926 - d. January 12, 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms and as Minister of Commerce and Industry in the Union government.
[edit] Early life
His father's name was Mahabaleshwar Hegde and his mother was Saraswati Hegde. He was a lawyer by profession. He participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 (Indian freedom struggle) and was an active member of the Congress Party. He became the president of the Uttara Kannada District Congress Committee from 1954 to 1957 and rose to become the general secretary of the Mysore Pradesh Congress Committee in 1958, a post he held until 1962. Much of his early administrative experience was built up during the governments of S. Nijalingappa (1957–58 and 1962–68) and Veerendra Patil (1968–71) in Karnataka, during which he held portfolios such as Cooperation and Development, Panchayati Raj between 1962 and 1965, Finance, Excise and Prohibition, and Information and Publicity between 1965 and 1967.
[edit] Career
In the famous split in the Congress in 1969, Hegde joined the Congress (O). He was Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council for a few years until 1974. The 1975 Emergency crackdown on opposition leaders saw his arrest along with other state and national level leaders. When the emergency was lifted he joined the Janata Party becoming its general secretary. The Janata Party came to power as the single largest party in the 1983 State elections, and Hegde emerged as a compromise candidate between the powerful Lingayat and Vokkaliga lobbies. He won his government a two-thirds majority by an arrangement of outside support. He secured the support of 18 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six of the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist), and 16 Independents.
Following the poor performance of the Janata Party in the 1984 elections (it won only four out of the 28 seats), Hegde resigned on the grounds that his party had lost its popular mandate. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi allowed him to head a caretaker government. In the 1985 elections the Janata Party came to power with a comfortable majority.
Hegde's rule was mired with several `scams' involving alleged corruption on the part of his own family. His son was accused of taking money for a medical seat. There were allegations made by the Congress (I) against him in a case involving the transfer of shares by the NGEF company. He resigned twice from chief ministership, the first time in February 1986 when the Karnataka High Court censured his government for the way it handled arrack bottling contracts, and again in August 1988 when he accepted moral responsibility for the tapping of the telephones of prominent politicians in the State.
He became the first non-Congress chief minister of Karnataka with the support of BJP. First from January 10, 1983 - December 29, 1984 followed by term from March 8, 1985 - February 13, 1986 and finally from February 16, 1986 - August 10, 1988. He has the rare distinction of presenting thirteen finance budgets in the State assembly.
He was also the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India, during the time of V. P. Singh. He was expelled from Janata Dal by its president Lalu Prasad Yadav, as per the instructions of then Prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda. Ramakrishna Hegde formed 'Rashtreeya Nava nirmana vedike' a social organisation and then 'Lokashakti'. He became the commerce minister in the BJP lead NDA government.
He acted in many dramas and movies such as 'Marana Mrudanga'. He was also the political mentor of a lot many politicians. At the age of 77 due to poor health Ramakrishna Hegde died in Bangalore on January 12, 2004. His wife Smt. Shakuntala Hegde unsuccessfully contested for Rajyasabha as a candidate of BJP.
[edit] External links
|
|||||
