RR Patil: A meteoric rise
♦ Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as RR Patil or Aaba, was born on August 16, 1957 into a family with modest means at Anjani in Tasgaon tehsil of Sangli district in western Maharashtra. He started off as a student leader while studying law and debuted in politics as zilla parishad member.
♦ After spending 11 years as ZP member, Patil was elected to Assembly for the first time in 1990 from Tasgaon on Congress ticket. He went on to win the seat five times. Became the chief whip of the Congress in Maharashtra Assembly as well as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee in 1996-97 and 1998-99.
♦ When Pawar formed NCP in 1999, Patil threw his lot with the Maratha strongman. He was subsequently rewarded and appointed NCP's Maharashtra unit chief.
♦ However, as the home minister, his infamous comment in the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks – “bade bade shehron mein choti choti batein hoti hai” --landed him in a soup. Eventually he had to resign on December 1, 2008.
♦ Before that, another controversy that dogged his tenure as the Home Minister was the result of his decision to ban the dance bars in Mumbai and elsewhere. The state government was left red-faced when the Supreme Court struck the ban down.
♦ He became home minister of Maharashtra for the second time after the victory of Congress-NCP alliance in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
♦ Apart from Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swachchhta Abhiyan (clean village campaign) and controversial ban on the dance bars, RR would also be remembered for the dispute-free village scheme. The innovative scheme was launched on the Independence Day in 2007 when he was the home minister.
♦ The scheme, named after Mahatma Gandhi, introduced alternative dispute resolution system which seeks to prevent the occurrence of disputes and resolve the existing disputes through people's participation. Patil was also one of the prime movers of the Bill aiming to regulate private money lenders. During his tenure as the home minister, the highest number of women was recruited in the police force.
♦ After spending 11 years as ZP member, Patil was elected to Assembly for the first time in 1990 from Tasgaon on Congress ticket. He went on to win the seat five times. Became the chief whip of the Congress in Maharashtra Assembly as well as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee in 1996-97 and 1998-99.
♦ When Pawar formed NCP in 1999, Patil threw his lot with the Maratha strongman. He was subsequently rewarded and appointed NCP's Maharashtra unit chief.
♦ RR found a mentor in Sharad Pawar. Inducted for the first time in the Democratic Front government in 1999 as the Rural Development Minister, Patil was assigned the home portfolio in 2003-end after Chhagan Bhujbal resigned in the wake of Telgi scam disclosures.
♦ However, as the home minister, his infamous comment in the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks – “bade bade shehron mein choti choti batein hoti hai” --landed him in a soup. Eventually he had to resign on December 1, 2008.
♦ Before that, another controversy that dogged his tenure as the Home Minister was the result of his decision to ban the dance bars in Mumbai and elsewhere. The state government was left red-faced when the Supreme Court struck the ban down.
♦ He became home minister of Maharashtra for the second time after the victory of Congress-NCP alliance in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
♦ Apart from Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swachchhta Abhiyan (clean village campaign) and controversial ban on the dance bars, RR would also be remembered for the dispute-free village scheme. The innovative scheme was launched on the Independence Day in 2007 when he was the home minister.
♦ The scheme, named after Mahatma Gandhi, introduced alternative dispute resolution system which seeks to prevent the occurrence of disputes and resolve the existing disputes through people's participation. Patil was also one of the prime movers of the Bill aiming to regulate private money lenders. During his tenure as the home minister, the highest number of women was recruited in the police force.
