Ex-President of the BJP, Former Union Law Minister &
Member of Parliament of India, K. Jana Krishnamurthi was born on May 24, 1928,
in Madurai in
the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A proud alumnus of the Chennai Law College, Jana Krishnamurthi gave up his successful
law practice in Madurai
in the year 1965. He was persuaded by Shri Guruji Golwalkar, the then chief of
the RSS, to enter politics.
An active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
from 1940, Janaji took over as the General Secretary of the Bharatiya Jana
Sangh (BJS) in Tamil Nadu at the instance of Atal Behari Vajpayee. He played an
active part in building an equity for the relatively unknown BJS in South India.
In 1975 when emergency was declared, he was the secretary of
the resistance movement in Tamil Nadu. In 1977 when BJS merged with the Janata
Party he became the General Secretary of that party's Tamil Nadu unit. In 1980,
he helped found the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) along with Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, SS Bhandari, Kushabhau Thakre & Jaganatha Rao
Joshi. He was the founder National Secretary. In 1983 became one of the General
Secretaries and from 1985 he was the Vice-President of the Party.
From 1980 to 1990, he helped the BJP Lotus, bloom in the
four Southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
In 1993 he moved to Delhi
at the request of Shri L. K. Advani and set up the Intellectual Cells of the
BJP on Economic, Defence & Foreign Affairs. From 1995 onwards he was in
charge of the BJP Head Quarters. He also served as the Spokesperson of the
Party. On March 14, 2001 he took over as the President of the BJP from Bangaru
Laxman. He held office till June 2002.
Then he became the Union Law Minister in the cabinet of Shri
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He stepped down in a year, due to ill health. From 2003
to 2007, he served as an active member of the Parliament Standing Committees on
External Affairs & Defence. He was also the Chairman of the Petitions
Committee. His tenure was noted for his frank and forthright report on Petrol
Adulteration.
Known for his unimpeachable integrity, simplicity and
meticulous organisation skills, Janaji succumbed to a cardio-respiratory arrest
on September 25, 2007.