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Anil Dave: A humble leader with an iron will

Dave played strategist for the BJP in MP, and was lauded for his organisational skills and foresight

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Anil Madhav Dave
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Anil Madhav Dave, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, passed away on Thursday following a heart attack. A polite, low-key and mild mannered personality, Dave was a contrast to his predecessor, Prakash Javadekar, who is at ease during public interactions and press briefings.

A native of Badnagar, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Dave, 60, got involved with social causes early on in life, and had even participated in Jayprakash Narayan’s movement. His politics was moored in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) thought. He joined the outfit as a young man.

Dave came to the fore in politics during the late 1990s and early 2000s, playing the role of a behind-the-scenes strategist for the BJP in MP. He was hailed for his organisational skills and strategies in the party’s thumping victory against the Congress in the 2003 Madhya Pradesh state assembly elections, when Uma Bharti unseated Digvijay Singh. He was also a close aide of Uma Bharti when she became the state’s Chief Minister.

Dave had also authored four books on climate change, Narmada and Shivaji.

He became a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha in 2009 and was currently serving his third term. It was only ten months ago when Dave was inducted into the government and was given independent charge of the environment ministry.

He was described as an ‘environmentalist’ by those close to him, someone who was concerned about the impact of big dams, and who revered the River Narmada and was passionate about its conservation. But his portfolio was bound to put his environmental concerns to test.

STRONG STANCE

  • Dave’s stand on some of the controversial environmental decisions was firmly on the side of development projects.
     
  • He also presided over granting wildlife clearing to the much-criticised Ken-Betwa river linking project.
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