| Lagadapati Rajagopal | |
| Birth Date: | 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Nellore, india |
| Residence: | Vijaywada |
| Spouse: | Padma Sri Lagadapati |
| Children: | 3 sons |
| Parents: | Lagadapati Ramanaidu Lagadapati Ramalakshmamma |
| Term Start: | 22 May 2004 |
| Term End: | 19 February 2014 |
| Office: | Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha |
| Predecessor: | Gadde Ramamohan |
| Successor: | Kesineni Srinivas |
| Constituency: | Vijayawada |
| Party: | Indian National Congress |
| Alma Mater: | V R Siddhartha Engineering College Loyola Public School, Guntur |
| Profession: | Industrialist |
Lagadapati Rajagopal (born 1964)[1] is an industrialist and former politician. He was the 15th Lok Sabha MP from the Vijaywada constituency for Indian National Congress.[2] [3] He resigned from Parliament and quit politics after the Telangana Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.[4] Rajagopal is the principal shareholder of Lanco Infratech.[5] [6]
He is the son of L. Ramalakshmamma and L.V. Rama Naidu,[7] a contractor.[1] He went into the family business after attending V R Siddhartha Engineering College, where he was suspended for 1 year.[1]
He married the daughter of politician Parvathaneni Upendra. He started two companies, one in the pig iron business and one in the power industry.[1]
In 2004, he ran for office in the Vijayawada district, the seat previously held by Father-in-law Upendra, and became a member of Parliament.[1] He has been a prominent anti-Telangana voice.[1] His company's headquarters have been moved to Delhi because the Hyderabad offices were deemed to be targets because of his anti-Telangana positions.[1]
On 13 February 2014, during a discussion of the Telangana Bill, L Rajagopal used pepper spray while on the floor which caused all the members of Parliament to vacate the building. He stated this was in "self-defence...I used the spray when I saw a colleague from a different party being manhandled".[8] He was suspended from Parliament by speaker Meira Kumar,[9] along with 4 other MPs. Sharad Yadav, Janata Dal (United)'s President, called the actions "sedition".[10] Protests against his actions included burning Rajagopal in effigy, and a boycott by lawyers in Warangal district.[11]
He tendered his resignation from Parliament in February 2014.[4]
While in Parliament, he has been on the following Committees: