Former Maharashtra CM and Congress veteran AR Antulay passes away

Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a veteran Congressman, Abdul Rahman Antulay, passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 85.
About AR Antulay

• Abdul Rahman Antulay, widely known as AR Antulay.
• He was 8^th and first and only Muslim Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1980 to 1982.
• He had resigned from his CM post following allegations of corruption scandal which was named as the “Cement scandal”. He was convicted in an extortion case by the Bombay High Court.
• As a veteran Congressman and lawyer remained loyal to Indira Gandhi during the Emergency and its aftermath when the Congress party split in 1978. The new outfit of Congress under leadership Indira Gandhi was born at his residence.
• He also served as the Union Minister of Minority Affairs in the UPA-I government lead by Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• He was elected as Congress party MLA and MP, from Raigad district of Maharashtra.
• He had fought his last election in 2009, which he lost to the Shiv Sena, after which he remained out of the active politics.

Cement scandal:  After becoming the chief minister, A R Antulay was embroiled in the cement scandal.  He was accused of forcing builders to contribute, albeit through cheques, to the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishtan, a trust he had set up, allegedly in exchange for quotas for cement which was then a controlled commodity.

 in Current Affairs : December 2014, Persons in News