New Delhi: Union Ministry of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, whose name has cropped up in an alleged scam over a hydel project in Arunachal Pradesh, is the BJP's face in the Northeast.
He was born on November 19, 1971 in Nafra village in Arunachal's West Kameng district. His father Rinchin Kharu was a prominent social worker and was the first pro-term speaker of Arunachal.
Rijiju was very active in politics during his college days in Hansraj College. After his graduation, he also has a graduate degree in Law from Campus Law Centre (Delhi University).
He participated in 'Festival of India' held in Moscow in 1987. He was known for his athletic skills and actively participated in sports. He also participated in the national games when he was in college.
During 2000-2005, he served as a member of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). He is often referred to as the 'voice of North East India'.
He got elected to parliament for the first time in 2004 General Elections but lost in 2009 by a narrow margin of 1314 votes.
Soon after his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he left BJP and joined the Congress in August 2009, two months ahead of the Assembly election, and later became the advisor to former chief minister Dorjee Khandu. Then Rijiju said that he left BJP because the central leadership failed to address several developmental issues of north east.
Later, in 2014 he rejoined BJP and won second time by defeating Congress leader Takam Sanjoy by a margin of 41,738 votes.
In October 14, 2014, Rijiju landed in controversy after he called for the construction of a road along the border of China (Tibet) in Arunachal. Later, he clarified the statement that he was talking about development projects in Indian territory and not in Chinese territory.
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