Kaduvetti Guru

Kaduvetti Guru
Personal details
Born J. Gurunathan
1 February 1961
Kaduvetti, Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu, India
Died 25 May 2018(2018-05-25) (aged 57)
Political party Pattali Makkal Katchi

Kaduvetti Guru, also known as J. Gurunathan and J. Guru, (1 February 1961 – 25 May 2018) was an Indian politician who was twice elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu.

Elections

Also known as Gurunathan,[1] Guru represented the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party. This had been formed from the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste association of which Guru was president and which was known on occasion for its violent protests against Dalit people.[2][3]

After an unsuccessful attempt to win a seat in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1996,[4] Guru was elected as a PMK candidate from Andimadam constituency in the 2001 elections.[5] He lost the contest for the Jayankondam constituency in the 2006 elections[6] but won the seat in the 2011 elections.[7] His attempt to defend it in the 2016 elections resulted in him coming second to J. K. N. Ramajeyalingam of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[8]

Comments by Guru against various Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ministers in June 2008 caused the DMK to end its alliance with the PMK, although the relationship had been difficult for some time previously.[9] Guru was arrested and imprisoned on remand in July on suspicion of attempted murder.[10] The PMK founder, S. Ramadoss, protested the arrest, claiming it was part of a political vendetta.[9] The detention order, which had been made under the National Security Act and upheld by the Madras High Court was revoked in November of that year, with conditions attached that included he posted bail in the two outstanding cases against him, including the alleged attempted murder, and that he desisted from making inflammatory speeches.[11]

When Guru stood in the Tiruvannamalai constituency in the 2009 general elections, he suffered a record defeat as the DMK targeted PMK candidates after the break-up of the alliance.[12]

Guru was acquitted in the 2008 attempted murder case in 2010 due to lack of evidence.[13] At the time of the 2011 state assembly elections, Guru and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate M. Muruganandam were noted as having the most outstanding cases of all the candidates, with nine each. Guru — whose cases mostly related to allegations of attempted murder, damage to public property and speeches inciting racial hatred — pointed out that he had never lost a case and that ""No court has convicted me so far. Several cases can be filed against me but the people, my conscience and God know whether I am a criminal or not."[14]

There were further legal problems in 2012, when he was cited under the Indian Penal Code by the police for unlawful assembly and riot in relation to a speech he allegedly delivered at Thazhambur, Kancheepuram district. Furthermore, a speech at the Chithirai festival in Mamallapuram resulted in his 2013 arrest under the National Security Act.[15]

At the time of the 2016 state assembly elections, there were 18 police cases pending against Guru, of which charges had been pressed in six. This was the greatest number filed against any candidate, with the combined total for all candidates being 324.[16]

Personal life

Guru was born on 1 February 1961[17] in Kaduvetti. then in Perambalur district (now Ariyalur district), Tamil Nadu. The son of a local leader of the Communist Party of India, he was married with a son and daughter.[18] He had an MA degree.[17] He lived in Kaduvetti[9] and died, age 57, on 25 May 2018 in a private hospital.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Defamation proceedings against 'Kaduvetti' Guru stayed". The Times of India. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Senior Ramadoss arrested". The Telegraph. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "PMK finds an ally in Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam as protests spread". The Times of India. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results in 1996". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  5. ↑ 2001 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India
  6. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Assembly Election Results in 2006". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  7. ↑ "List of MLAs from Tamil Nadu 2011" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "Jayankondam (Tamil Nadu) Election Results". Infobase. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  9. 1 2 3 "PMK leader 'Kaduvetti' Guru held". Sify News. 5 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Guru arrested on charges of attempt to murder". Economic Times. PTI. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Guru's detention under NSA revoked". The Hindu. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Why The Tables Could Not Be turned". The Telegraph. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  13. ↑ "PMK leader Guru acquitted in `attempt to murder` case". Zee News. PTI. 29 December 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  14. ↑ Sivakumar, B.; Ramanujam, K. (5 April 2011). "Kaduvetti Guru, BJP man have most cases against them". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  15. ↑ "PMK leader 'Kaduvetti' Guru detained under NSA". The Hindu. PTI. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  16. ↑ Sivakumar, B. (11 May 2016). "At 324, no. of TN candidates with criminal cases doubles". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  17. 1 2 "Thiru. J. Guru (a) Gurunathan (PMK)". Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  18. 1 2 "PMK ex-MLA 'Kaduvetti' Guru dead". The Hindu. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
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