MK Alagiri

MK Alagiri

MK Alagiri ( Muthuvel Karunanidhi Alagiri; also: Azhagiri; Tamil : மு. க. அழகிரி [ ˈaɻəɡiri ]; born January 30, 1951 in Chennai ) is an Indian politician of the regional party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). From 2009 to 2013 he was the All-India Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers in the Manmohan Singh II cabinet . Alagiri is a son of DMK party leader M. Karunanidhi . He had long ambitions to succeed his father. After Karunanidhi had chosen Alagiri's brother MK Stalin as his successor, Alagiri fell out with his father and was expelled from the DMK in 2014.

biography

MK Alagiri was born on January 30, 1951 in Chennai (Madras). He is the son of the long-time DMK leader and former Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi and his wife Dayaluammal. After completing his bachelor's degree, he devoted himself to politics and moved to Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu, where he managed the DMK's fate in the southern districts of the state as organizational secretary. Although he did not hold political posts for a long time, Alagiri was able to build up a power base in southern Tamil Nadu.

In 2003, MK Alagiri was arrested on charges that he had commissioned the murder of DMK politician and former Federal Minister of State T. Kiruttinan . In the subsequent court process, Alagiri was acquitted.

MK Alagiri and his brother MK Stalin are rivaling to succeed their father M. Karunanidhi as DMK leader. Stalin, who was Minister in his father's cabinet from 2006–2011 and Deputy Chief Minister Tamil Nadu from 2009–2011, is considered to be Karunanidhi's most promising successor. After the daily Dinakaran published a poll in 2007 that Alagiri was less popular than Stalin, angry supporters of Alagiri set the Dinakaran editorial office in Madurai on fire. Three newspaper employees were killed in the flames. In 2010, Alagiri revived the succession dispute when he decided in an interview that he would not accept anyone but Karunanidhi as DMK leader. In January 2013, however, Karunanidhi finally named Stalin as his political heir.

In the Indian parliamentary elections in 2009 , MK Alagiri was elected as a DMK candidate in the constituency of Madurai in the Lok Sabha , the lower house of the all-India parliament. After the election victory of the United Progressive Alliance , the electoral alliance led by the Congress Party , in which the DMK is also involved, Alagiri was appointed Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers in the new government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh . As a minister, Alagiri stayed away from most of the Q&A sessions in the Lok Sabha, as he did not have sufficient command of either of the two working languages Hindi and English and the parliamentary regulations did not allow him to speak in his native Tamil. In March 2013, the DMK withdrew from the government in protest against the Indian stance on a UN resolution on the Sri Lanka conflict . Alagiri then resigned, like the other DMK cabinet members, from his ministerial post.

After the family feud over the leadership position at DMK had come to a head, MK Alagiri fell out with his father Karunanidhi in January 2014. Alagiri was then suspended from the DMK. The reason given was a lack of party discipline.

Personal

MK Alagiri has been married to his wife Gandhi Alagiri since 1972. He has two daughters and a son, Dayanidhi Alagiri , who works as a film producer.

Alagiri initially wrote his name in Latin Azhagiri, but changed the spelling to Alagiri after he switched to federal politics , as his name was incorrectly pronounced in northern India.

Web links

• Official website of MK Alagiris
• MK Alagiri on the Lok Sabha website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Muthuvel is the name of the grandfather and Karunanidhi of the father. The patronymic and, as usual in South India, is abbreviated in front of the name, Alagiri is the nickname. Family names are not common in South India.
2. ^ The Hindu, July 31, 2003: "Magistrate extends judicial custody for Azhagiri". ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ^ The Hindu, May 9, 2008: "Azhagiri, 12 others acquitted in Kiruttinan murder case".
4. ↑ BBC News, May 10, 2007: "Call for Tamil Nadu attack probe"; Frontline 10/24 (May 19 - June 1, 2007): "Mayhem in Madurai".
5. ^ The Hindu, March 24, 2010: "I cannot accept anyone as leader after Karunanidhi, says MK Alagiri". ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ The Hindu, January 6, 2013: "Stalin, my political successor: Karunanidhi". ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ BBC News, August 6, 2010: "India cabinet minister breaks his parliamentary silence".
8. ^ The Hindu, March 20, 2013: "DMK Ministers meet PM, resign".
9. ↑ The Hindu, January 24, 2014: "DMK suspends Alagiri".
10. ↑ The Times of India, August 4, 2009: "Azhagiri is now Alagiri".