Pon Radhakrishnan, the new Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in Narendra Modi-led Government, said that he will focus on Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL’s) development.
He also said that he will take steps to bring more heavy industries to Tamil Nadu and will look at bringing more small industries to southern districts, especially to Kanyakumari, from where he won the Lok Sabha election.
Fondly called ‘Ponnar’ by the BJP party cadres, the 62-year old Pon Radhakrishnan hails from a wealthy and eminent Nadar family from Alathankarai, Nagercoil. He contested in the BJP seat from the Kanyakumari constituency.
One of the factors which worked in Radhakrishnan’s favour in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the electors, especially among first-time voters, that he will get an influential portfolio if the BJP forms the government, due to his proximity to Modi. He can bring more infrastructure projects and investments to this region.
Besides tourism, Kanyakumari and nearby places have not seen much industrialisation.
Speaking to a television channel he said, “I will focus on BHEL’s development, considering it a major heavy industry in the State,” he said. It may be noted that the public sector company currently has plants in Tiruchi, Ranipet and at Pudukottai.
He added, he will take steps to bring new heavy industries to the State to create employment. Speaking about Kanyakumari, from where he was elected to the Parliament, Radhakrishnan said, “in Kanyakumari there are no crorepathis, ideal is small industries. At the same we will look at viable options to bringing heavy industries here,” he said.
He also said soon he will meet Uma Bharati, who is holding Water Resources portfolio at the Centre, to discuss issues related to Cauvery and Mullaiperiyar. The other issues, which he says he will take to the respective Ministries are of the welfare of fishermen and Sri Lankan Tamils.
Radhakrishnan known for his closeness to the BJP’s high command in Delhi, especially with Modi and Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who appointed him as the Minister of State for Youth Affairs in the Union Cabinet headed by his Government between 1999 and 2004. Later, he also served as Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
Radhakrishnan’s efforts to establish a ‘Youth Village’ of the Sports Authority of India in Kanyakumari district was then well received by the public.
But his efforts never took off as suitable land for this ambitious project could not be identified then and hence the anxious wait continues.
A lawyer by profession, Radhakrishnan joined the Hindu Munnani, a right-wing organisation in the 1990s. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, he first won on a BJP ticket from Nagercoil. The party had won three other seats in the same elections.
Radhakrishnan lost the same seat in 2004 and 2009.
Source : Business Standars