Major Initiatives of Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, President, BJP

Galvanization of the Party and the Cadres

• Shri Venkaiah Naidu immediately swung into action and`Delhi Sankalp' was launched at the meeting of the National Council on 3rd August, 2002 with the objective of transforming the party into `sarva vyapi and sarva sparsh'. A clarion call was given to the cadres and leaders too to stop soliciting the leaders in Delhi and instead to dedicate themselves in the service of the people (Delhi ka parikrama band karo - parakram se Janata ka sewa karo). A Ten Point Code of Conduct of `Dos and Don'ts' was suggested.
• To take the message of Delhi Sankalp to the grass-root level, five Zonal Conferences of District level leaders were held at Bangalore on 27th & 28th Aug, Bhopal on 4th & 5th Sep, Kolkata on 7th & 8th Sep, Jaipur on 11th & 12th Sep and Guwahati on 21st & 22nd Sep. Shri L.K. Advaniji attended all these conferences highlighting their importance and the concern of the party leadership to bring about a change in the attitudes and approaches of the cadres and leaders.
• Within the first hundred days of his Presidentship of the party, Shri Venkaiah Naidu undertook a whirlwind tour to almost all the States for a personal interaction with the State level leaders. Since the image and public perception of the Central Government were crucial to that of the party, Shri Venkaiah Naidu has specifically focused on inspiring the party machinery so as to effectively communicate to the masses the initiatives and accomplishments of the NDA Government in respect of welfare of the masses and all round development of the country.
• Shri Venkaiah Naidu has been regularly taking up with the Prime Minister and Shri L.K. Advaniji the organizational and political matters besides institutionalizing regular visits of Shri Advaniji to Party Central Office to enhance Party-Government co-ordination.
• On 25th September, 2002 the Party President inaugurated the`Gaon Chalo Abhiyan'. It was undertaken in two phases under which the party cadres and leaders at various levels reached out to three lakh villages talking about the philosophy of the party and the initiatives of Vajpayee Government. Hoisting of party flags, distribution of the Prime Minister's photographs were other highlights of the Abhiyan. The Party President also visited several villages in different States. To the satisfaction of the party leadership, the Abhiyan was well received. 2.75 lakh villages were covered.
• A massive Kisan Sammelan at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi was held on 13th January, 2003 to felicitate the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his demonstrated concern for the welfare of farmers and various initiatives in this regard.
• Women from various parts of the country under the auspices of BJP Mahila Morcha felicitated the Prime Minister on February 18, 2003 for passing various Bills in the Parliament concerning women.
• It has been decided to hold strategy sessions in respect of the States going to the polls in the near future. Shri Advaniji, party office bearers and other important leaders from respective States met for detailed discussions and brain-storming so as to sustain the positive momentum generated in the wake of the Gujarat victory. Shri Venkaiah Naidu rooted firmly in the belief that the party leaders shall be seen more in the rural areas and with the masses than in Delhi.
• A massive rally of farmers has been organized in Chattisgarh capital Raipur on 31st January, 2003 to highlight the problems being faced by the farmers. Participation of more than one lakh farmers in this meeting is said to be unheard of.

Discipline

• Shri Venkaiah Naidu has made it clear in no uncertain terms that the party will not tolerate indiscipline. No one crossing the Lakshman Rekha will be spared. In the context of the political developments in Uttar Pradesh and some party MLAs defecting from the party and their subsequent intention to return to the party fold the State Unit was clearly instructed to consider their request only after a public apology was tendered.
• Office Bearers have been assigned specific functions. A self-assessment mechanism has been introduced to enable them review their performance every month.

Catching Them Young - Leadership Promotion

• With the changing demographic profile of the country, Shri Venkaiah Naidu and the top leadership of the party is of the considered view that the party shall adequately reflect the youthfulness of the country. Accordingly, the National Executive was reconstituted appointing young and dynamic leaders to the extent of more than 30% in the National Executive. According primacy to `ability and mobility' the average age of the party office bearers has been brought down to 52 years.
• In the National Election Committee and Parliamentary Board, young and promising leaders like Shri Pramod Mahajan, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri Mukhthar Abbas Naqvi, and Shri Shahnawaz Hussain were made to share honours with the leaders of the eminence and experience of Shri Vajpayeeji and Shri Advaniji.
• Five of the nine members of the Parliamentary Board, the highest decision making body are also young leaders with an average age of 50 years. The others being only the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and Shri Jaswant Singh. The young leaders are fanning out into different parts of the country at every available opportunity so as to consolidate the hold of the party among the youth. Though the party constitution requires only two women as office bearers, four women have been included among the National Office Bearers. For the first time a scheduled caste women leader (Dr. Anita Arya) and one from minorities (Shri Mukhthar Abbas Naqvi) have been appointed as General Secretaries of the Party.
• Rightly or wrongly, by design or by default, an impression has grown that BJP has compromised to a great deal on its ideological moorings and fundamentals of its philosophy. This has become particularly evident since the coming into being of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). There were also reports that sizeable sections of the cadres were getting disillusioned under an atmosphere of growing confusion and fading clarity. Shri Venkaiah Naidu sought to address to this concern in right earnest and came out with the powerful slogan of "Ek haat me BJP ka Jhanda, doosare me NDA ka Agenda" (BJP flag in one hand and of the NDA in the other). This has come as a great relief to the party cadres and even leaders who were feeling disoriented. No wonder this slogan was widely acclaimed and became very popular.
• Shri Naidu has made it plain and clear that the party need not be and shall not be apologetic about its ideology and on the contrary the party's ideology was to be proudly proclaimed and propagated.
• The Party's Yuva Morcha was rendered all support in organizing an International Conference on Terrorism in February 2003 in which delegates from about 55 countries participated. The UNO also sent a five-member delegation, which is a recognition of the growing concern about terrorism which in turn acknowledges the correctness of BJP in seeking to focus the attention of the people of the country on this growing menace.

Restoring Parity between the Party and Government

• BJP being a party with difference always ascribed to a different value system. Shri Venkaiah Naidu wanted to restore the primacy of this value system by according due place to the party in the overall scheme of things. Power in the form of office in Government is only an instrument of furthering party's socio political and economic philosophy. Marginalisation of party in respect of larger issues concerning the country is not in the long term interests of the party. After due deliberations with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Shri Venkaiah Naidu ensured that the party got its due say.
• Ever since Shri Naidu took over as the Party President, there have been healthy consultations with the party leadership on the issues of public importance including the induction of Ministers. There has been a healthy barter of leaders between the party and the Government in the interest of both. Some Union Ministers were also spared to spearhead party work in States like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.
• The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha was directed to organize seminars on Linking of Rivers in all the Zones and accordingly a national youth seminar on linking of rivers was held in Delhi on 22nd of May, 2003. Another seminar on the subject was held in Hyderabad on 28th of May, 2003.
• Reversing the tradition of party leaders and Ministers being confined to their respective domains, Shri Venkaiah Naidu facilitated healthy complementarity of these two roles and functionaries. Union Ministers were made to regularly visit the Party Central Office under the auspices of the Party's Intellectual Cell for discussion and exchange of views on issues of concern to the people. This was meant to keep the Government rooted to the pulse of the masses.
• Under `Sahyog' programme, 31 identified Ministers were made to visit Party Office to receive memoranda from the people and to listen to their problems. Every day three Ministers visit the Party Office on rotation basis and give audience to the party workers and general public with a view to redress their grievances.
• The Member Secretary of the National Commission on Population has made a presentation in the Central Office for a detailed discussion and understanding of substantial issues in this regard. The Party President has decided to take the population control issue before the National Executive for wider deliberations.
• Shedding inhibition and defensive mindset the party has been made alert, assertive and forthright in expressing its views on issues of major significance like terrorism, NCERT Text Books, illegal infiltration, abrogation of IMDT Act, Anti-Conversion Law, POTA, Population Control, etc.
• Discussion papers are being prepared on all such issues at the instance of the Party President so as to enable comprehensive understanding among the party leaders and cadres.

Out reach Activities

• Whatever the reasons may be, the party was found to be diffident in reaching out to various opinion makers and influential sections of the society with the party's thinking and philosophy on larger issues. Shri Venkaiah Naidu was keen to make a difference in this regard. Soon after becoming the President of the Party, Shri Naidu took the initiative of meeting representative groups of Doctors, Academicians, Trade & Industry, Film Industry, etc., in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur and Kolkata. He reached out to more than 400 non-political groups through this initiative.
• Commerce Cell, Panchayat Raj Cell, Industry Cell, Doctors Cell, Ex-Servicemen Cell, Fishermen Cell, Weavers Cell, Slum Dwellers Cell and Grievances Cell were set up for a focused approach to resolve the problems concerning the respective sectors. An Intellectual Cell (Think Tank) was also set up to study various issues in detail and prepare discussion papers for appropriate use.
• These efforts have begun to prove useful and meaningful. Leading trade and industry bodies like FICCI, CII, Assocham, PHD Chamber of Commerce, FIEO, etc., have already visited the Central Office and gave a detailed account of their perceptions and perspectives on larger issues in the presence of the Party President. The highlight of the out reaching effort has been the Luncheon Get Together with the Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Diplomats from 84 countries with the Party President. Shri Venkaiah Naidu gave a comprehensive account of the party's philosophy and approach which was well received. This Get Together also enabled clearing certain misconceptions about the party among some sections of the Diplomats. This opportunity was also used to highlight the party's and country's growing concern about terrorism and its international dimension. This initiative was well received and widely noticed.
• Media plays an important role in shaping people's perceptions. Being conscious of this fact Shri Venkaiah Naidu has taken the initiative of convening a meeting of the Spokespersons of State Party Units and persons in-charge of Media Cells in New Delhi. After detailed discussions a media plan has been evolved for further action. The President asserted that these functionaries shall "think progressively, assert ideologically and campaign aggressively".
• A daily "BJP Media Watch" has been launched under the aegis of the Parliamentary Party to appraise the Members of Parliament on various issues of concern and importance. A Committee has been constituted to make it further effective.
• A Research and Documentation Division has been set up to meet the documentation needs of the party on various issues.
• The party organ "BJP Today" is being further strengthened through content enrichment and circulation improvement.
• Making use of technological advances, Shri Venkaiah Naidu has also introduced "Tele Conferencing System" for regular live interaction between the State and the Central Leadership on every Tuesday after the meeting of the General Secretaries.

Other Initiatives

• Whether it is Urea prices, Cenvat, Vat, Powerloom problem, Ready-made garments, CAS or Iraq, after the present President assumed the office, the party is seen playing a pro-active role in convincing the Government to address the issues and thus build up a pro-people image.
• Waiver of interests on the loans taken by the farmers in the drought affected States is a major pro-farmer step initiated by the Party President.
• A new initiative was taken to have introspection and have an exchange of views and experience of State Presidents by convening a meeting at Hyderabad on 29th and 30th May, 2003. Deputy Prime Minister, Shri L.K. Advani was also present in the meeting.
• The Party President has given a call to the party workers to corner the Congress from all corners - not to counter in the coming Assembly Elections to the five states and pave the way for winning 300 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in 2004. He has evolved an action plan - Mission 2004 and prescribed a 25-Point Progrmme for the party workers with the objective for the BJP to win 300 seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on its own and 2/3ds majority with NDA allies. He has also spelt out the action plan - Vision 2020 (Shaktishali Bharat ke liye Shaktishali Bhajapa) to strengthen and make India a developed nation.
• A 5-Point Agenda has been given to the party functionaries in the five states that are going to polls in 2003.
• The Party President during the National Office Bearers meeting at Jaipur on 25th May, 2003 has taken the initiative to adopt a resolution urging upon the Government to consider providing reservation to the Economically Backward Classes.
• The BJP ST Morcha has held in April, 2003 in the Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi a unique festival "Adivasi Vanamahostav" to show solidarity of the Scheduled Tribes towards the BJP.
• The BJP Minority Morcha has been advised to organize a Muslim Sammelan in the first week of July where Prime Minister is expected to address the Sammelan.
• The BJP Mahila Morcha has been directed to hold "Mahila Pratinidhis' Sammelan" at State and Zonal level meetings.
• "Chunav Sahayak Yojana" has been evolved under which a selected team of 10,000 full time party workers have been entrusted the job of working outside their constituencies till 2004 elections.
• The Party President has called upon the party workers to organize massive Jan Sampark Abhiyan - "Gaon Chalo, Ghar Ghar Chalo" to reach out to every village, every mohalla and every house.
• A meeting of senior party functionaries of BJP, Parivar and other frontal organizations, was held at Mumbai to discuss the economic issues.
• From 18th to 20th June, 2003, a Chintan Baithak was held in Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini Training Complex, Thane, Maharashtra which was attended by Hon'ble Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and other senior Ministers and leaders from the Party. The 27 leaders including Shri Madan Das Deviji from the RSS deliberated on important issues such as the political scenario, party related issues, electoral strategies, etc. The initiative taken by the Party President to convene such useful Chintan Baithaks was acclaimed by one and all.

The Journey Ahead

• People describe him as everybody's President acceptable to Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and moving around all the time concentrating on the countryside. He already declared that he is not aspiring for anything more and that he will not accept any further responsibility. He is totally contended and wants to see the party coming to power with a comfortable majority on its own and the NDA experiment continues after that.
• The Party President took necessary steps to improve relations between the Party and the Parivar. He took all the five General Secretaries to RSS Headquarters on February 13, 2002 and had a one and a half hour meeting with Sarkaryavaha Shri Mohan Bhagwatji and Deputy General Secretary Shri Madan Das Deviji, who are supposed to be the second generation of RSS. It was discussed and decided that they should meet frequently and one should not doubt others sincerity even while differing on issues within the Parivar.
• Taking Uttar Pradesh issue seriously he had called the meeting of top brass of BJP (15 Members) at his residence where the Deputy Prime Minister and Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi were also present. To take stock of the UP situation and to decide future course of action including strengthening the coalition and work out the modalities of coalition government in UP, on 15th February, 2003 the BJP President organised a meeting between Ms. Mayawati and top leadership of BJP including Shri Advaniji to work out the modalities and intended to have a frank talk. After that they met the Prime Minister.
• The Party President had detailed discussions with the BJP Ministers in Uttar Pradesh Council of Ministers and also discussed the political situation in the state with the District Presidents and MLAs on May 18. BJP Ministers have been directed to be available at Party Office to attend to the grievances of the party workers. Also a system has been evolved to have effective coordination between the Ministers and MLAs, Ministers and District Presidents as well as party workers.
• On 15th February, 2003 afternoon the Finance Minister visited the BJP Headquarters at the invitation of the Party President to have interaction with the BJP General Secretaries and the Economic Cell to hear their ideas with regard to improving the economy of the country and suggestions about general budget.
• The Party President also took initiative to strengthen the concept of self-financing for party's day to day activities and decided the Aajeevan Sahyogi concept introduced by Shri L.K. Advaniji be implemented and decided to observe the Death Anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay as `Samarpan Diwas'. The entire party top brass including Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and all Union Ministers came down to Party Headquarters on 11th February, 2003 and offered their contributions, thus giving inspiration to the party cadres. The Party President wants to institutionalize this.
• Took initiative to have a Chintan Baithak (Brain Storming Session), a 3-hour meeting, with Chandra Babu Naidu at Prime Minister's residence on Sunday along with the PM and DPM to know his ideas and give him a sense of involvement and send a signal that he is being taken in to confidence.
• Subsequently on 30th March, 2003 an informal discussion at the instance of the Party President was held in Prime Minister's residence where majority of the NDA allies met and deliberated on the current political situation in the country and the steps to be taken to improve the image of the NDA Government and to strengthen the coordination machinery.
• He has good equations with Shri George, Karunanidhi, Badal, Chowthala, Naveen Patnaik, Ms Mamata Benerjee and Shri Nitish Kumar.
• The Party President started attending Parliamentary Party Meetings and addressed all BJP Members of Parliament and called upon them to be aggressive in countering the Opposition on Ayodhya, on Uttar Pradesh and on jungle-raj in Bihar. He said "don't be defensive on ideology, on issues and take the battle to the Opposition on issues like terrorism, anti-conversion law, illegal infiltration, NCERT text books, etc."

Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Major Initiatives as Minister of Rural Development, Government of India

As the Minister of Rural Development, Government of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu was instrumental in launching of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), an ambitious programme seeking to provide connectivity to over 1,60,000 habitations in the rural areas with all-weather roads of a high quality, involving an outlay of about Rs. 60,000 Crores. Within a short span of 17 months, over 7000 roads were completed and projects costing over Rs. 7,500 Crores, were sanctioned. The programme seeks to cover all the unconnected habitations in the country by the year 2007. The PMGSY programme has ushered in an era of scientific approach, provision of high technological inputs and meticulous planning in the realm of rural roads. A national workshop on rural roads was also organized at New Delhi by the Ministry, in collaboration with the World Bank, in January 2002.

In order to meet the exigencies arising out of natural calamities, Shri Venkaiah Naidu initiated the Food for Work Programme (FWP), which was innovative and effective in tackling the adverse fall out of calamities. The FWP was implemented from January 2001 to March 2002, whereby 40 Lakh tonnes of food grains, costing about Rs. 4,000 Crores, was supplied to the affected states, free of cost. In pursuance of the assurance of the Hon'ble Prime Minister on the Independence Day, 2001, the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), was launched in September 2001. As a result, an additional Rs. 500 Crores as cash component and 34 Lakh Tonnes of food grains costing about Rs. 3,400 Crores was released to the states. In addition, a special component package of 18,11,500 tonnes was also released to the states.

Employment being a major factor in poverty alleviation, it was a thrust area in Shri Venkaiah Naidu's priorities for rural development. The Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarazogar Yojana (SGSY), which is the single largest self employment scheme, was given a major fillip. Vigorous efforts were made convert SGSY into a national movement and to facilitate creation of atleast one self help group in each of the country's 14 Lakh habitations. It is a matter of satisfaction that almost 9 Lakh groups have already been created. Further, with a view to give a major thrust to employment generation, a new comprehensive scheme called the Jaya Prakash Rozgar Guarantee Yojana was formulated by the Ministry. The strengthening of the Panchayat Raj system, with particular emphasis on empowering the Gram Sabhas has received the necessary priority, keeping in view the spirit of the 73rd amendment of the Constitution providing for devolvement of powers to the Panchayats. A national conference of the Panchayat Adyakshas was held in April 2002, which adopted a national declaration for implementation of the amendment. The Housing Sector received detailed attention and for the purpose of convenience and simplicity, the existing schemes for rural housing were proposed to be merged in the Kendriya Grameen Awas Yojana with effect from 2002-003.

It is matter of deep concern that even after 5 decades of independence, several thousands of villages have been languishing due to lack of sufficient and good quality drinking water and absence of proper sanitary conditions. In order to remedy the situation , Shri Venkaiah Naidu, directed the efforts of the Department of Drinking Water Supply towards accentuation of provision of safe drinking water to the partially- covered and not-covered habitations. Over 67 districts have been covered under the Sector Reforms project, involving an outlay of Rs.2,060 Crores. The initiatives taken by Shri Naidu in this area have received international acclaim and it is indeed significant that he was invited to deliver the keynote address at the World Water Forum 2002, held at Washington in May 2002, under the auspices of the World Bank, attended by over 650 delegates representing 161 countries, the second highest ever gathering at a World Bank function. The delegates applauded the initiatives of India with a standing ovation. In order to cater to the needs for the calamity affected areas, 5% of the outlay for housing and water was earmarked for such contingent and emergent situations. The Total Sanitation Campaign, which aims at providing proper sanitation facilities, received a major fillip under the stewardship of Shri Naidu, with 185 project districts being taken up involving an outlay of Rs. 1,700 Crores.

In order to preserve, harness and conserve the precious natural resources, namely land and water and to promote overall agricultural development, the Watershed Development programme was accorded overriding priority by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, for ushering in rural prosperity. He was responsible for revision of the watershed guidelines whereby, a focused approach was given to the development of watersheds and cost per hectare was revised upwards from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,000. It is no mean achievement that new projects covering more than 75 Lakh Hectares were sanctioned covering almost all the states and union territories. A programme for One- Time Desiltation of village ponds all over the country was taken up. The supplementary observation mechanism was introduced for effective monitoring of the projects. The farmers had always faced acute predicament due to absence of proper land records in the villages. Shri Naidu laid a significant thrust on computerization of land records and was instrumental in development of a model Pattadar Pass Book and model Legislation, which have been circulated to the states for further action. Implementation of this scheme is expected to go a long way in eliminating corruption and empowering the rural communities.

In order to bring about a proper check on the implementation of the rural development schemes, Shri Venkaiah Naidu firmly believed that the villager should have access to information and control over the activities. Accordingly, he developed a four pronged strategy, which was emphasised for effective implementation at the grass roots level, comprising of the following:

• Awareness of the Schemes
• Transparency
• People's Participation
• Accountability-through social audit by gram Sabha.

The vision of Shri Venkaiah Naidu, for bringing about the speedy development of rural areas and bridging the gap between the comparatively developed areas of the Urban India and the underdeveloped regions of the country represented by the Rural Bharat, extended beyond the Governmental initiative to the realm of the Private co-operation and their proactive involvement. Towards this end, several meetings and conferences were held, with the participation of the representatives of the industry from the FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM etc., in different parts of the country and a significant impact was created for galvanizing the public-private sector initiative in promoting rural development.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu toured all parts of the country and personally oversaw the implementation of the programmes and reviewed their performance with the state governments from time to time, and was unsparing as regards deficiencies noted, which resulted in improvement of performance across the country, particularly in the north eastern states. He toured USA, Australia, Netherlands, France and Belgium to attend important conferences and to study the rural development initiatives which were relevant for our country. With development as the mantra and consensus as the approach, Shri Naidu strived to bring about speedy development of the rural areas and focus the attention of the country towards this sector which accounts for nearly 70% of the population.

Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

2002 to 2004

Shri Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was born on 1st July, 1949 in Chavatapalem, a remote village in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. His parents, Late Shri Rangaiah Naidu and Smt. Ramanamma were agriculturists. After graduating from V.R College, Nellore, he obtained the law degree from the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Shri Naidu was married to Smt. Usha on 14th April, 1971 and is blessed with a daughter and a son.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu, right from his college days, was deeply interested in the welfare of the common man, particularly the farmers and the down trodden sections of the society. This has led to his active involvement in the political and social activities at a relatively younger age. He was inspired by the selfless sacrifice and the principled politics of the leaders who had fought during the freedom struggle and also those who had valiantly opposed the emergency. During his three decades in public life, Shri Naidu has held several positions with distinction, including the following:

• 1973-74 President, Students Union, Andhra University;
• 1974 Convener, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan's Yuvajana Chatra Sangharsha Samiti, Andhra Pradesh;
• 1977-80 President, Youth Wing of Janata Party, Andhra Pradesh;
• 1978-83 -1983-85 Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh;
• 1980-83 Vice President, Youth Wing of All India B.J.P.;
• 1980-85 Leader, B.J.P Legislative Party in Andhra Pradesh;
• 1985-88 General Secretary, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.;
• 1988-93 President, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.;
• 1993 - September, 2000 General Secretary, All India B.J.P.;
• Secretary, B.J.P. Parliamentary Board;
• Secretary, B.J.P. Central Election Committee;
• Spokesperson of the B.J.P.;
• April 1998 Elected to Rajya Sabha;
• 1998-99 Member, Committee on Home Affairs; Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India;
• Dec., 1999 onwards Member, Committee on Finance, Government of India;
• Jan., 2000 onwards Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India;
• 30th Sept. 2000 to 1st July 2002 Minister of Rural Development, Government of India
• Member, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs;
• Member, Cabinet Committee on Economic Reforms;
• 1st July 2002 to October 05, 2004 President, Bharatiya Janata Party.
• April 2005 Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party.

Both as a student leader and political figure, Shri Venkaiah Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers, rural people and development of the backward areas. He vociferously fought against forces of oppression and corruption, which were threatening the vitals of democracy. He was imprisoned for several months during the dark days of emergency, for having fought for preservation of fundamental rights and freedom of the countrymen. Besides being an avid reader, he has published several articles on subjects of public and political interest, democratic decentralization and on other important issues of national concern. As President of the BJP, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Naidu exhorted the party to adopt the slogan Back to Villages, and built the party at the grassroots level in the rural parts of the state. Both as a state level and as a national leader of the party, Shri Naidu extensively toured all over the country, particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas, to develop the cadre and mass base of the party.

AS A PRESIDENT OF BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY, Shri Venkaiah Naidu sought to further build the Party, both at the state and national levels.

Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu - Parliament Profile

Name	Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
Father's Name	Late Shri Rangaiah Naidu
Mother's Name	Late Shrimati Ramanamma
Date of Birth	1949-07-01
Birth Place	Chavatapalem, Distt. Nellore (Andhra Pradesh)
Maritial Status	Married On 14 April 1970
Spouse Name	Shrimati M. Usha
No. of Children	one daughtersOne Sons
State Name	Karnataka
Party Name	Bharatiya Janata Party
Permanent Address	Facsinate House, G-11, 8th Main, 12th Cross, Malleswaram, Bangalore 560003
Present Address	30, Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi. 110001 Telephone : 23019387, 23019388, 230158489868181988(M)
Email id	mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in
Educational Qualifications	B.A., B.L. Educated at V.R. High School, Nellore, V.R. College, Nellore and Law College, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam
Profession	Agriculturist/Farmer, Political and Social Worker
Positions Held	1973-74 President, Students Union, Andhra University Colleges1974 Convener, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Kshatra Sangharsha Samiti of Andhra Pradesh1977-80 President, Youth Wing of Janata Party,Andhra Pradesh 1978-83 Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh 1980-83 Vice-President, Youth Wing of All India B.J.P. 1980-85 Leader, B.J.P. Legislature Party in Andhra Pradesh 1983-85 Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh 1985-88 General Secretary, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.1988-93 President, Andhra Pradesh State Unit of B.J.P. 1993 - Sept. 2000 General Secretary, All India B.J.P. April 1998 Elected to Rajya Sabha 1998-99 Member, Committee on Home Affairs Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of AgricultureDec. 1999 - 2001 Member, Committee on FinanceJan. 2000 - Feb. 2004 Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development30 Sept. 2000 - 30 June 2002 Minister of Rural DevelopmentJuly 2002- Dec. 2003 National President, B.J.P.Jan. 2003 - Feb. 2004 Member, Committee on External AffairsJan. 2004 - Oct. 2004 National President, B.J.P. (second term)July 2004 Re-elected to Rajya SabhaAug. 2004 onwards Member, Committee on FinanceOct. 2004 onwards Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agricutlure and Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public DistributionApril 2005 - Jan. 2006 Vice-President, B.J.P.Jan. 2006 onwards Member, Parliamentary Board of B.J.P. and Central Election CommitteeSept. 2006 onwards Chairman, Committee on PetitionsOct. 2006 onwards Member, General Purposes Committee
Freedom Fighter	No
Books Published	Articles in newspapers on the subjects of political and public interests
Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special Interests	Agriculture and social work; motivating voluntary organizations and involving andguiding constructive works in the fields ofagriculture, health, animal care, vocational training, education etc.
Sports, Clubs, Favourite Pastimes and Recreation	Reading and educating people
Countries Visited	U.S.A., U.K., Malaysia, Singapore, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Mauritius, Maldives and Thailand
Other Information	Chairman, Students Union at College and also in University; imprisoned under M.I.S.A. during the emergency, 1975-77; Secretary, (i) B.J.P. Parliamentary Board and (ii) B.J.P. Central Election Committee; Spokesman, B.J.P., 1996-2000; Member, (i) Parliamentary Board of B.J.P., since Feburary 2006 and (ii) Central Election Committee, since February 2006

Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu's Biography

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was born on July 1, 1949 at Chavatapalem in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. He received his graduation degree from VR. College, Nellore. After that he obtained his law degree from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

Being born in a farmer’s family, Naidu has always been very sympathetic towards the welfare of the common man, particularly the farmers and the downtrodden sections of the society. Both as a student and political figure, he gained a lot of popularity as a brilliant orator.

In 1978, Naidu was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh. In 1993, he was appointed the General Secretary of All India Bhartiya Janata Party and since then he has been actively involved in national politics. In the year 2000, he became the Minister of Rural Development, Government of India. As the President of the B.J.P., he has maintained a healthy relationship with all allies of the government and provided stability to Indian politics.