25 Facts About Vaiko

Vaiko is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko is the founder and General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a political party active mainly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.

Vaiko graduated with a Gold Medal in his Bachelor of arts degree in economics from St Xavier's College, Palayamkottai and masters from Presidency College, Chennai.

Vaiko obtained his bachelor's degree in law from Madras Law College.

Vaiko is an avid reader and orator known for his oratory skills both in Tamil and English.

Vaiko is the general secretary of the MDMK party.

Vaiko was a part of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and was formerly a close colleague of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar M Karunanidhi.

Vaiko has been involved in and led anti Hindi agitations.

Vaiko entered the Rajya Sabha in 1978 and has been member of the Upper House for three terms.

Vaiko was known as "Lion Of Parliament" due to his vociferous speeches in Parliament.

Vaiko protested against Kerala's demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar and proposed building of dams in Pambar and Siruvani.

Vaiko supported national interlinking of rivers and Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

Vaiko filed a Public Interest Litigation in Madras High Court requesting closure of the copper smelting plant of Sterlite Industries in Tuticorin which did not follow the waste management procedures correctly and leading to the closure of the plant.

Vaiko unequivocally supported Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and other organizations fighting for a separate Tamil Eelam country in Sri Lanka.

Vaiko made a trip to Eelam 1989 at the height of the LTTE's war with Sri Lankan Army when IPKF Indian Peace Keeping Force was at Jaffna.

Vaiko was the first member of Parliament and chief of a registered political party in the country to be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.

The charges stemmed from speeches Vaiko made at a party meeting on the Sri Lankan issue and the government's raids into LTTE-held areas on 21 October 2008.

Vaiko has said that India should retract its ban on the LTTE, claiming the ban was a shield to suppress freedom of expression and stifle the voice of the Opposition.

On 3 April 2017, Vaiko was jailed in for sedition case filed by DMK in their 2010 regime.

Vaiko has launched many engagement programmes in rural areas with the participation of villagers.

Vaiko has undergone a month-long padayatra in Tamil Nadu for the interlinking of interstate rivers in India.

Vaiko conducted medical camps for physically disabled people in his constituency with the help of Sri Venkateshwara Medical College, Thirupathi.

Vaiko conducted medical camps for providing the Hepatitis B vaccine for children and provided vaccines for 65000 children in his constituency.

Vaiko enjoys writing in his free time and has authored over 50 books apart from regular essays and columns in newspapers.