Sellur K. Raju
Minister of Co-operation for Tamil Nadu
In office
16 May 2011 – 6 May 2021
Member of Legislative Assembly
Personal details
Political partyAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Sellur K. Raju is an Indian politician and incumbent Member of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly for the Madurai West constituency since 2011. He represents the AIADMK party. This was his first election and he won by securing 59 percentage of vote in Madurai west Constituency. He was the minister for Co-operation, which includes Co-operation, Statistics and Ex-service welfare.

Personal life

Raju lives in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He has a B.Sc. degree from Kamaraj University.[1] Raju was admitted to MIOT Hospital-Chennai on July 8, 2020 for COVID-19 treatment, has made a complete recovery. He was discharged from the hospital on July 17.[2]

Political career

He first won the Madurai (West) constituency in the state legislative elections in 2011 and has represented the party since.[3] In 2016, Raju ran on a ticket, where he promised to turn Madurai into Sydney in a matter of 18 months as part of a smart city mission.[4]

He publicly stated his admiration for Rajinikanth when Rajinikanth had finally announced his political plunge in 2018.[5] Later, he stated that Rajinikanth might be able to win over Karaikudi aachi (elderly woman) but not Tamil Nadu aatchi (regime).[6]

Thermocol Controversy

In 2017, Raju used thermocol sheets to float in the Vaigai reservoir to conserve water. He had said that ₹10 lakh had been allocated for the experiment to cover a portion of the dam in order to reduce water loss due to evaporation. The sheets were swept away by strong winds just moments after Raju set pieces of polystyrene afloat. Social media reacted quickly, mocking him and the officials for coming up with such an idea.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ SELLUR K RAJU (Winner) Retrieved on 18 February 2018
  2. ^ "TN Minister Sellur K Raju recovers from COVID-19, discharged from hospital". The News Minute. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Tamil Nadu election result 2021 | Sellur Raju: MLA who covered lake with thermocol to prevent drought leading in Madurai West". Deccan Herald. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Tamil Nadu Election Result 2021 | Madurai West Assembly Constituency: AIADMK's Sellur K Raju Wins Over DMK's Chinnammal By 8,962 Votes". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Reporter's Diary: Thermocol jokes refuse to leave minister Raju's side". 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Sellur Raju stokes controversy with his 'aachi' comment, apologises as people protest". The News Minute. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ B.A, Pon Vasanth (12 June 2017). "'Thermocol experiment' not backed by any project plan". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Eureka! Minister's thermo-cool project to prevent water loss".


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