La Ganesan is an Indian politician and social activist. In 2016, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. He is best known for becoming the 17th Governor of Manipur. In July 2022, he was appointed as the acting Governor of West Bengal.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
La. Ganesan was born on Friday, 16 February 1945 (age 77 years; as of 2022) in Thanjavur district, Madras Presidency, British India (now Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India). In 1960, L.A. Ganesan completed his schooling from Veera Raghava High School, Thanjavur. After completing his schooling, La Ganesan could not pursue higher education due to the sudden death of his father and had to take up the responsibilities of the family.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
La Ganesan belongs to a Tamil Brahmin family.
parents and siblings
His father, Lakshmi Raghava Iyer, was a businessman. His mother’s name was Alamelu L.
La Ganesan’s parents
He has three brothers named L. Session, L. Narayanan and L. This is Krishnamurthy. l. Session is a journalist, L. Narayanan is a former employee of the state Department of Telecommunications, and L. Krishnamurthy is a former Tamil Nadu government employee.
wife and children
La. Ganesan is unmarried.
Religion
La Ganesan follows Hindu religion.
Address
Their permanent address is 18/37, Postal Colony, First Street, West Mambalam, Chennai – 600037.
signature/autograph
La Ganesan’s signature
livelihood
Politics
La Ganesan took up a job as a Revenue Settlement Inspector (RSI) in the Revenue Department of the State Government in Tamil Nadu after the death of his father. After working for nine years in the Revenue Department, La Ganesan resigned from his post and joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Tamil Nadu as a pracharak. His tenure with the RSS began when he was very young as his family was deeply involved in propagating the ideology of the Sangh. In 1975, when the Indian government declared emergency in the country, La Ganesan was made the leader of an underground movement aimed at protecting democracy in the country by standing up against the then Indira Gandhi-led Indian government. Due to his participation in several underground movements, in 1975, he landed on the wanted list of the Tamil Nadu Police Force, as a result of which he had to go into hiding for more than a year. In 1978, La Ganesan was made the district in-charge of the organization for his contribution to the Tamil Nadu RSS. In 1979, he was made zonal in-charge of Tamil Nadu RSS. In 1981, while working with the RSS, L.A. Ganesan, in order to protect the interests of Hindus, fought against the mass religious conversions that took place in the town of Meenakshipuram, where more than a thousand Dalits were converted to Islam. In March 1982, L.A. Ganesan played an important role in resolving the issues that led to the Mandaikkadu communal riots. His role during the riots was appreciated by many national leaders. In 1991, while serving as the United States Organizer of the Tamil Nadu RSS, La Ganesan was asked to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to help develop the political party. As a member of the BJP, La Ganesan worked on strengthening the party from the grassroots level in the state of Tamil Nadu. Over the years, he rose in the party and served the party as Organization Secretary, National Secretary, Vice President and State President of Tamil Nadu. From 1991 to 2021, La Ganesan served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the party. La Ganesan contested the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu but lost. In October 2016, La Ganesan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh due to his social activities. He remained an MP till the end of 2018.
La Ganesan giving speech in Rajya Sabha
Governor
Lad by President Ram Nath Kovind on 27 August 2021. Ganesan was appointed the Governor of Manipur.
La Ganesan during his swearing-in ceremony as Governor of Manipur
On 18 July 2022, La Ganesan was sworn in as the Governor (additional charge) of West Bengal.
La Ganesan takes oath as acting Governor of West Bengal
controversies
“Sacrifice the state” line
In 2017, farmers of Neduvasal village in Tamil Nadu were protesting against an ONGC project. ONGC had identified an area of ten kilometers in the village to extract natural elements like methane and hydrocarbons. The area identified by the corporation also includes the ancestral land of the farmers. In 2017, as an MP, La Ganesan had given a controversial comment in support of extraction of natural elements by ONGC. He said,
There is nothing wrong in sacrificing a state for the welfare of the country.”
Ganesan did not like this statement.
Assault with BJP President
In 2020, La Ganesan was accused of verbally and physically attacking Kirubanidhi, the first Dalit president of the BJP, at the national party meeting held in Indore in 2003. Kirubanidhi alleged that there was a heated debate on the use of party funds, during which L. Ganesan lost his temper and hurled casteist abuses at the party president. Kirubanidhi also alleged that when he tried to stop La Ganesan from abusing him, La Ganesan physically attacked him by twisting his hand behind his back while he was trying to calm him down. Describing the incident he said,
My tenure was about to end. I had to submit my accounts. I found many irregularities in the management of party funds. Even after being promoted as national secretary, Ganesan continued to handle the state treasury of the party. When I stopped him from doing so, he became angry, started hating me and then attacked me. He was not able to digest the fact that a Dalit was in a leadership position. After that episode, I left the party and joined DMK.
Salary
La Ganesan’s estimated salary as Governor of Manipur is Rs 3,50,000 + other allowances (as of July 2022).
net worth
As of 2014, La Ganesan’s net worth was around Rs 3,07,000.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In an interview, La Ganesan once claimed that he did not marry because he wanted to serve the RSS and the country.
- La Ganesan said in an interview that even though he belongs to a political party with a different ideology, he respects the communist leaders of Tamil Nadu.
- Many media houses reported that La Ganesan is a coffee lover.
- During the Emergency in 1975, La Ganesan wrote several patriotic songs targeting the Indira Gandhi government.
- In an interview, he claimed that during the 1975 Emergency, despite being pressured by his fellow protesters to raise anti-Indira slogans, he never personally attacked Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. He said,
I protested against the crisis and also wrote songs. Still I avoided personal attacks and disrespectful speeches. I also tried to stop those who raised slogans of “Down with Indira Gandhi” and “Down with Indira Gandhi’s dictatorship”.
- While talking about his morning routine in an interview, La Ganesan said that he used to wake up at 4 in the morning and go for a walk. After which he used to read at least one chapter of Bhagwat Geeta.
- La. Ganesan is the founder of the newspaper Ore Nadu, which means “One Nation.”
- In 2010, L.A. Ganesan founded Potramarai, a non-political organization that aims to promote Tamil artistes, award winners, musicians and artists across the world.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn