| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Palaniappan Chidambaram |
| Profession | Politician |
| Famous for | Finance Minister of India from 2004-2014 |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet inches– 5’ 9” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms– 80 kg in pounds– 176 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Politics | |
| Political Party | • Indian National Congress (INC) (1972-1996; 2004-Present) • Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) (1996-2001)  })(jQuery);
• Congress Jananayaka Peravai (2001-2004) |
| Political Journey | • Joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1972 • Included as a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1972 • Appointed as the Youth Congress President of Tamil Nadu from 1973 to 1976 • Appointed as the General Secretary of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) of Tamil Nadu from 1976 to 1977 • Contested and won his first Lok Sabha Election from the Sivganga Constituency in 1984 and was elected to the 8th Lok Sabha • Appointed as the Joint Secretary of the AICC • Appointed as the Union Deputy Minister of Commerce by Rajiv Gandhi on 21 September 1985 • After Chidambaram gave positive results, he was also given the charge of the Union Deputy Minister for Administrative Reforms, Personal & Public Grievances, and Pensions from 1985 to 1986 • He was made the Union Minister of State for Personal & Public Grievances, Pension and Home Affairs (Internal Security) • In 1989, he was re-elected as an MP from the Sivganga Constituency • From 1989 to 1990, he was appointed as a member of many committees such as the Consultative Committee under the Punjab State Legislature Act, Committee to review Lok Sabha Secretariat Rules, Ministry of Finance Consultative Committee • Elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991 • Appointed as the Union Minister of State for Commerce (Independent Charge) from June 1991 to July 1992 • Chidambaram was reappointed as the Minister of State for Commerce (Independent Charge) from February 1995 to April 1996 • Quit Congress in 1996 to join the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) • The TMC along with other regional and national parties formed a coalition government • Appointed as the Finance Minister in 1996 • Elected to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time in 1998 • Elected to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004 • Appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Finance by the Manmohan Singh Government • Appointed as the Union Minister of Home Affairs after the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks • Elected to the Lok Sabha for the seventh time in 2009 • Appointed as the Union Minister of Finance after Pranab Mukherjee was made the President of India in 2012 • Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | • Best Administrator in India Award by the K. Karunakaran Foundation in 2012 • Business Reformer of the Year Award by ET Awards in September 2013 |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 16 September 1945 (Sunday) |
| Age (as of 2021) | 76 Years |
| Birthplace | Kanadukathan, Sivaganga District, Tamil Nadu |
| Zodiac sign | Virgo |
| Signature |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Kanadukathan, Sivaganga District, Tamil Nadu |
| School | • St. Thomas Convent, Chennai • Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, Chennai • Loyola College, Chennai |
| College/University | • Presidency College, Chennai • Madras Law College (renamed as Dr Ambedkar Government Law College), Chennai • Harvard Business School, Massachusetts, USA |
| Educational Qualification(s) | • BSc in Statistics from the Presidency College in 1964 • Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Madras Law College in 1966 • MBA from Harvard Business School in 1968 |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Nagarathar (Also known as Chettiar) [1]Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India The Nattukottai Chettiars by David West Rudner |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Address | 87/1-54 Motilal Street, Kandanur, Sivaganga District, Tamil Nadu |
| Controversies | • He had to resign in July 1992 as the Minister of State for Commerce after it was revealed that her wife knowingly invested in the shares of a company involved in a share market scandal. • On 6 April 2009, while addressing a press conference on why the Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was given a clean chit in the 1984 Sikh Riots, a journalist threw a shoe at Chidambaram. The journalist, later identified as Jarnail Singh, said he threw the shoe as Chidambaram did not answer his questions. • In 2013, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani sent a letter to P. Chidambaram accusing him of money laundering by working with NDTV and laundering INR 5,000 Crores through the Mauritius route back to India. • Chidambaram was criticized after the 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings. It was pointed out by the media and several politicians that even though heavy investments were made to upgrade the intelligence and security of the nation after the 26/11 attacks of 2008, the 2011 bombings took place. • Reports in 2012 and 2016 revealed that his son, Karti Chidambaram, along with Robert Vadra, took advantage of P. Chidambaram’s position as the Finance Minister in 2006 and were direct beneficiaries of the 2G scam. They made provisions for the Aircel-Maxis deal to happen in exchange for shares and bribes. Chidambaram was accused of delaying the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Proposal by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) by seven months until his son received the kickbacks from the Aircel-Maxis deal. • INX MEDIA CASE |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Girlfriend | Nalini Kailasam |
| Marriage Date | 11 December 1968 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Nalini Chidambaram |
| Children | Son– Karti Chidambaram (Politician & Businessman) Daughter– None |
| Parents | Father– Palaniappa Chettiar (Army Officer) Mother– Lakshmi Achi (Homemaker) |
| Siblings | Brother– 2 • P. Lakshmanan (Elder; Industrialist)  • P. Annamalai (Deceased) Sister– Uma Narayanan (Businesswoman) |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | • Honda City (2015 Model) • Skoda Octavia (2010 Model) |
| Assets/Properties (as in 2016) | Movable: INR 42.95 Crores
Cash: 3.5 Lacs INR Immovable: 4.25 Crores INR Agricultural Land in Athuru Village, Karnataka worth 1.93 Crores INR |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (As Member of Rajya Sabha) | 1 Lac INR per month + Additional Allowances |
| Net Worth (approx.) | 95.66 Crores INR (as in 2016) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About P. Chidambaram
- P. Chidambaram is an Indian politician popularly known for being India’s Finance Minister from 2004-2014. He is one of the senior Spokespersons of the Indian National Congress (INC).
- His mother, Lakshmi Achi, was the daughter of Sir Annamalai Chettiar, who was the founder of the Annamalai University and the United India Insurance Company.
- During his college days, he was influenced by the Left’s ideology. In 1969, he joined N. Ram (Editor of The Hindu) and women’s activist Mythili Sivaraman and started a political journal- “The Radical View”.
Mythili Sivaraman
- Chidambaram is also a Supreme Court lawyer.
P. Chidambaram In Court
- P. Chidambaram had a love marriage. Their families were against the marriage so he eloped with his wife and got married on 11 December 1968. They had invited their parents but they did not attend. After a gap of nine months, their families finally accepted them.
P. Chidambaram With His Wife Nalini Chidambaram
- The Budget that he presented in 1997 as the Finance Minister is still considered the dream budget for the Indian Economy.
P Chidambaram Presenting The 1997 Budget
- Her mother, Lakshmi Achi, attended the Budget session of 1997. She said that in those days, you could sit in the parliament and listen to the budget. Chidambaram spoke for one and a half hours. She stated that she was proud that her son had presented a balanced budget.
P. Chidambaram’s Mother Lakshmi Achi
- According to his mother, he has a very strong memory. He absorbs everything that he reads and is a very fast reader; by the time someone finishes reading 1 page, he would’ve already completed 10.
- On 25 November 2005, Chidambaram merged his party, Congress Jananayaka Peravai, with the Indian National Congress after being made the Finance Minister.
P Chidambaram Handing Over The Merger Papers Of His Party With The Congress To Sonia Gandhi
- In 2004, he was inducted into the Manmohan Singh Government as the Finance Minister.
P. Chidambaram With Manmohan Singh
- In November 2008, he was appointed as the Home Minister after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks following the resignation of Shivraj Patil as Home Minister.
P Chidambaram As The Home Minister
- In 2012, he was appointed as the Finance Minister again when Pranab Mukherjee (the then Finance Minister of India) became the President of India.
P. Chidambaram With Pranab Mukherjee
- On 5 July 2016, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
P. Chidambaram Filing His Nomination For The Rajya Sabha
- On 4 December 2019, he walked out of jail after almost three months, with the Supreme Court granting him bail in the INX Media money laundering case. He spent 105 days in prison, mostly in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
References/Sources:
| ↑1 | Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India The Nattukottai Chettiars by David West Rudner |
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