Vaiko
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
25 July 2019
ConstituencyTamil Nadu
In office
1978–1996
ConstituencyTamil Nadu
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1998–2004
Preceded byV. Alagirisamy
Succeeded byA. Ravichandran
ConstituencySivakasi
General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Assumed office
6 May 1994
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Vaiyapuri Gopalsamy

(1944-05-22) 22 May 1944
Kalingapatty, Sankarankovil, Tinnevelly district, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu, India)
Political partyMarumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1994)
Other political
affiliations		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1964-1993)
SpouseRenukadevi
ChildrenDurai Vaiyapuri, Rajalakshmi, Kannagi
Residence(s)Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma materSt. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai, Presidency College, Chennai , Madras Law College

Vaiyapuri Gopalsamy, better known as Vaiko, is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from Tamil Nadu.[1] He is the founder and General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), a political party active mainly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.

Birth

Vaiko was born in Kalingapatty near Sankarankovil, Madras Presidency.[2][3]

Education

He graduated with a Gold Medal in his Bachelor of arts degree in economics from St. Xavier's College, Palayamkottai and masters from Presidency College, Chennai. He obtained his bachelor's degree in law from Madras Law College.[4] He is an avid reader and orator known for his oratory skills both in Tamil and English. He has two daughters and a son.

Political career

Vaiko is now the general secretary of the MDMK party. Vaiko was a part of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and was formerly a close colleague of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi.[5][6] Vaiko has been involved in and led anti Hindi agitations.[7]

He entered the Rajya Sabha in 1978 and has been member of the Upper House for three terms. He has also been elected to the Lok Sabha[8] twice.[3]

Vaiko was known as "Lion Of Parliament" due to his vociferous speeches in Parliament.[9][10] Vaiko protested against Kerala's demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar and proposed building of dams in Pambar and Siruvani. Vaiko also supported national interlinking of rivers and Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. Vaiko filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Madras High Court requesting closure of the copper smelting plant of Sterlite Industries in Tuticorin which did not follow the waste management procedures correctly and leading to the closure of the plant.[11]

Vaiko often goes on foot marches along with his party cadres to attract attention to issues.[12]

Support of LTTE

Vaiko unequivocally supported Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other organizations fighting for a separate Tamil Eelam country in Sri Lanka. He made a trip to Eelam 1989 at the height of the LTTE's war with Sri Lankan Army when IPKF Indian Peace Keeping Force was at Jaffna.[13] Vaiko was the first member of Parliament and chief of a registered political party in the country to be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.[14] He was released after spending 18 months in prison.[15]

In 2008, Criminal Investigation Department of Tamil Nadu police arrested Vaiko on charges of sedition.[16] The charges stemmed from speeches Vaiko made at a party meeting on the Sri Lankan issue and the government's raids into LTTE-held areas on 21 October 2008.[16] After 14 days in judicial custody, Vaiko was released.[17]

Vaiko has said that India should retract its ban on the LTTE, claiming the ban was a shield to suppress freedom of expression and stifle the voice of the Opposition.[18][19]

On 3 April 2017, Vaiko was jailed in for sedition case filed by DMK in their 2010 regime.[20]

Philanthropy

In 2005, Vaiko started the Marumalarchi Blood Donors' Club.[21] Vaiko has launched many engagement programmes in rural areas with the participation of villagers.[22] Vaiko has undergone a month-long padayatra in Tamil Nadu for the interlinking of interstate rivers in India.[23] Vaiko during the time he represented Sivakasi Constituency in Loksabha conducted several medical camps for his constituents. He conducted medical camps for physically disabled people in his constituency with the help of Sri Venkateshwara Medical College, Thirupathi. Thousands of people afflicted by polio attended the camp and were given medical aid including corrective surgery at Thirupathi and Whitefield, Bengaluru and post-surgery aid, equipments, etc,. He conducted medical camps for providing the Hepatitis B vaccine for children and provided vaccines for 65000 children in his constituency. Considering the logistics and the planning involved in providing the vaccines in three doses to 65000 children, the program was successful without a hitch. And considering the fact that all these medical camps were organized by Mr. Vaiko without any government help and with his own money, it itself states the philanthropic nature of the leader.

Personal life

He married Renuka Devi on 14 June 1971. Vaiko enjoys writing in his free time and has authored over 50 books (Tamil & English) apart from regular essays and columns in newspapers.[24][25][26][27][28][29]

Documentary film

Six decades of the political life of Vaiko were filmed by Durai Vaiko and released by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin, K. Veeramani,R. Nallakannu,K. S. Alagiri, Thol. Thirumavalavan, K. Balakrishnan (CPI-M), R Mutharasan, T. Velmurugan, Khadar Mohideen (IUML) and M H Jawahirullah (MMK) in Sathyam Cinemas.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Vaiko, Anbumani elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu". The Economic Times. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "News 18 : Politics". 6 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Interview with Vaiko". 29 November 2006.
  4. ↑ "Shooting from the lip". Times of India. 28 June 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Vaiko praises his mentor, steers clear of current politics". The Times of India. 6 September 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "DMK reaches out to MDMK leader Vaiko". India Today. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Tamil Nadu parties decry centre's 'Hindi imposition'". The Times of India. 4 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Vaiko Parliament Bioprofile". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Always on the move". Sachidananda Murthy. The Week. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Modi will become PM : Vaiko". Telugu Mirichi. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Smelting Plant Nadu Pollution Control Board Smelter". The Economic Times. 29 September 2010.
  12. ↑ Akilan, Mayura (11 December 2012). "பூரண மதுவிலக்கை அமல்படுத்தும் வரை 'சிலுவைப் போர்': வைகோ அறிவிப்பு". Oneindia.com.
  13. ↑ "Vaiko: "Sri Lankan Tamils want a Separate Nation"". tamilnation.co. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  14. ↑ "Vaiko arrested from Chennai airport". Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Vaiko released from prison". Rediff.
  16. 1 2 Kumar, S. Vijay (24 October 2008). "Vaiko arrested on charges of sedition". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "Vaiko: Sedition trial against Vaiko from Sept 6 | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  18. ↑ No justification for extending ban on LTTE, says Vaiko The Hindu - 27 September 2010
  19. ↑ "Lift ban on LTTE, demand MDMK lawyers". The Hindu. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011.
  20. ↑ Sivaraman, R. "Vaiko jailed in sedition case filed by DMK regime". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Marumalarchi blood donors save boy's life". The Hindu. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  22. ↑ "More about Tank Desilting Program". The Hindu. 13 October 2004. Archived from the original on 27 November 2004.
  23. ↑ Padayatra boosted MDMK's image: Vaiko[usurped]
  24. ↑ Ziegfeld, Adam (19 February 2016). Why Regional Parties?: Clientelism, Elites, and the Indian Party System. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316539002.
  25. ↑ "The Pioneer". www.dailypioneer.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "Angered By Question, Vaiko Storms Out Of Interview". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  27. ↑ "Video: Vaiko and the art of walking out of an interview". The News Minute. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Vaiko denies receiving any money from AIADMK". The Hindu. 6 April 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  29. ↑ "Vaiko storms out of TV interview on query about fund offer - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  30. ↑ The Hindu (11 September 2018). "Documentary film about the life of Vaiko released". Retrieved 11 September 2022.
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