Poongothai Aladi Aruna Explained

Poongothai Aladi Aruna
Birth Date:1964 10, df=yes
Birth Place:Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Office1:Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme
Term Start1:13 May 2006
Term End1:20 May 2008
Predecessor1:P. Vijayalakshmi
Successor1:Geetha Jeevan
Office2:Minister for Information Technology
Term Start2:28 February 2009
Term End2:15 May 2011
Predecessor2:M. Karunanidhi
Successor2:R. B. Udhaya Kumar
Office3:Member of Legislative Assembly
Term Start3:25 May 2016
Term End3:6 May 2021
Predecessor3:P. G. Rajendran
Successor3:P. H. Manoj Pandian
Constituency3:Alangulam
Term Start4:2006
Term End4:2011
Predecessor4:P. G. Rajendran
Successor4:P. G. Rajendran
Constituency4:Alangulam
Party:DMK
Spouse:V. Balaji
Occupation:Gynaecologist, politician
Parents:Aladi Aruna
Kamala
Date:23 February
Year:2018

Poongothai Aladi Aruna is an Indian politician and former Information and Technology minister of Tamil Nadu under DMK ruling in 2006–2011. In 2016 Tamil Nadu assembly election she contested from Alangulam (State Assembly Constituency) and won the election with 88891 votes.

Personal life

She is the daughter of the late DMK minister Aladi Aruna. She was born in Chennai on 28 October 1964. She is a gynaecologist by profession and received part of her education in London.[1] She married Balaji Venugopal in the late 1980s. They have two daughters, Samantha and Kavya.

Electoral performance

She was given a ticket to contest elections after her father's death. She was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Alangulam constituency in 2006 elections.[2] [3] She later went on to become Social Welfare minister in the then Tamil Nadu government.[4]

Social Welfare Minister

During her tenure as the Social Welfare Minister, Chief Minister Kalaignar M Karunanidhi announced the Two Egg scheme in the midday meals and now it is three times a day. The physically challenged people were given high priority during this period to the extent of a complete survey, National ID Card, Government benefits and motorised vehicles. She had submitted her resignation on 14 May 2008 following a controversy over her telephone conversation with the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption S.K. Upadhyay about a corruption case involving her relative.[5]

IT Minister

On 28 February 2009 Poongathai Aladi Aruna was reinstated as Minister for Information Technology to the Government of Tamil Nadu. This is first time that Tamil Nadu Govt. has a separate minister for Information Technology.[6]

Scandal

In an audio CD released by Janata party president Subramanian Swamy on 13 May 2008, Poongothai is pleading with the Director of Vigilance and Anti-corruption, SK Upadhyay to be soft on her relative, Jawahar. Jawahar is an electrical engineer in the Tamil Nadu electricity board and was caught accepting bribes. She later confirmed that the voice in that tape is really hers[7] and resigned from office accepting responsibility.[8]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/disp_ind.asp?prof_id=267 Poongothai Aladi Aruna profile
  2. http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1996/StatisticalReport-TN96.pdf 1996 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  3. http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_2006/StatReport_TN_2006.pdf 2006 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20121102071415/http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/06/stories/2006050618680300.htm Election to Tamil Nadu assembly
  5. News: Poongothai Aladi Aruna's resignation accepted . 21 May 2008 . The Hindu . 10 January 2019 .
  6. News: Poongothai Aladi Aruna sworn in IT Minister . 28 February 2009 . The Hindu . 10 January 2019 .
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020195728/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-05-13/chennai/27746255_1_poongothai-vigilance-officer-s-k-upadhyay Scandal
  8. https://archive.today/20120714035950/http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14673300 Resignation