Sodomy case: Low-profile Raghavji had a clean image

Raghavji enjoys the image of being a low-profile but astute politician in Madhya Pradesh.

Touching the feet of his granddaughter before leaving home for Assembly to present the annual budget has been a peculiar ritual with Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Raghavji for the past 10 years.

With three days to go for the monsoon session,the veteran BJP leader was all set to present another supplementary budget when allegations of sodomy ousted him on Friday. He would turn 79 on Sunday but is unlikely to celebrate though the family stood by him in his hour of crisis,saying it was a conspiracy.

Born in Gujarats Kutch district in 1934,the law graduate and a commerce post graduate has a sharp financial mind that is often on display during assembly debates and during interactions with bureaucrats.

While he enjoyed the image of being a low-profile but astute politician in MP,outsiders took notice of him when he started vehemently opposing the rollout of the proposed Goods and Services Tax,saying it was against the interest of the state.

Raghavji began his career with the Bharatiya Jansangh in 1958 and has represented the party in the Lok Sabha from the politically important Vidisha constituency and the Rajya Sabha before he started contesting the Assembly elections from Vidisha district.

From twice being member of the state units disciplinary committee to being associated with Saraswati Shishu Mandir and tax and educational institutions in Vidisha,his political career has grown and prospered in Vidisha district,not far from the state capital of Bhopal. He was a member of several parliamentary committees and chairman of standing committee on industries.

Till a few years ago he wielded enough clout in the district and defied even the senior leadership, says a party leader,who insisted that he did not go along all that well with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The party committed a mistake by not sacking him when the rumours about his involvement in a sex CD started doing the rounds, the insider said.

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When the talk about the CD persisted,Raghavji dug in his heels though there were rumours that he would be asked to leave. He had recently given indication that he would not contest the next election but the reason cited was his ill health and weak eyesight.

Before the latest blow,Raghavji enjoyed a relatively clean image. The only time he came close to courting what could be called a minor controversy was when the details of him having bought a pair of spectacles worth Rs 40,000 became public. An RTI query had revealed the money was paid by the government. An unruffled Raghavji had then said that the expenditure was not wasteful and he was entitled for it.