Ex-Union Min Ananth Kumar's daughter slams BJP, says 'Father's contribution forgotten'

Former union minister of chemicals and fertilizers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, Ananth Kumar served in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for over 30 years before passing away in 2018. Now, Ananth's daughter Vijeta has taken to Twitter and claimed that BJP has forgotten about the contributions made by her father to the party. She went on urge the party for 'self-reflection.'

Taking to Twitter, she wrote, "Appa (Ananth Kumar) formally joined BJP in 1987 and worked for it till his last breath. Not acknowledging his contributions by naming him in inaugural programs, roads, and rail lines is trivial. He is alive in the hearts of lakhs of people. The party that's forgetting him requires self-reflection."  

Appa formally joined BJP in 1987 and worked for it till his last breath.

Not acknowledging his contributions by naming him in inaugural programs, roads, rail lines is trivial. He is alive in the hearts of lakhs of people.

The party that's forgetting him requires self reflection pic.twitter.com/JcPMqHOSPO

— Vijeta AnanthKumar (@vijeta_at)

Who is Ananth Kumar? 

Affiliated with the BJP, Ananth Kumar served as a Union Minister from 2014 until his demise in 2018. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from the South Bangalore constituency six times, from 1996 to 2018. He also served as the Minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism, Sports, and Urban Development. 

During the initial days, he served as a member of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak's student wing, ABVP. He claimed the position of Secretary of ABVP and climbed the stairs to become its National Secretary in 1985. He joined the BJP in 1987 and became its national secretary in 1996. He was elected from Bangalore South constituency to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996, starting his inspiring journey as a parliamentarian. 

In 2003, the national leadership of the party appointed him as the chief of the Karnataka BJP unit. The decision to elevate Ananth's position in the party was done in view of the upcoming state assembly and Lok Sabha elections in 2004. He stood up to the expectations of his party after BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the Karnataka Assembly and got a majority number of Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka in 2004. Later, he was also appointed as the national general secretary of BJP.