<p>Chennai: One of the most articulate faces in the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/dmk">DMK</a>, former Tamil Nadu Finance and IT Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/p-t-r-palanivel-thiaga-rajan">P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan</a> (PTR), who lost the Assembly elections, on Monday announced he was taking a “short break” from active politics to finish writing a book and accept invitations to deliver talks across the country and elsewhere on various topics. </p><p>In a long post on his social media accounts, Thiaga Rajan, a former top banker who plunged into politics in 2016 by successfully contesting the Assembly elections from Madurai (Central) seat, said he shall return “recharged and refreshed” to continue with his passion for public service, and to be an agent of change. </p><p>Thiaga Rajan, who comes from an illustrious family in Madurai whose members have long been associated with the Dravidian movement and the DMK, lost the April 23 Assembly elections to TVK’s V M S Mustafa. He was the all-powerful Finance Minister from 2021 to 2023 before he was shifted to the Information Technology portfolio after a purported audio clip of him talking about how members of the DMK’s first family were running the government and making money went viral on social media. </p><p>“He is taking a three-month break. Nothing more should be read into his statement as he wants to inform people that he won’t be active for a while. He is likely to resume his regular work from mid-August. He wants to travel abroad and deliver talks which he couldn’t due to his ministerial responsibilities,” a source close to Thiaga Rajan told <em>DH</em>.</p>. <p>Thiaga Rajan’s four-page note triggered speculation about his future moves with many faulting the DMK for not “using his expertise” for the whole of its five-year tenure. </p><p>Giving a piece of “unsolicited advice” to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government, Thiaga Rajan said inertia (and a <em>status quo</em> mindset) is the natural tendency of all arms of government, especially the bureaucracy and everyone feels comfortable doing the same things they have already done. </p><p>“But such an approach has been the core failure of democratically elected governments worldwide, especially over the last two decades…If they are to succeed, they must fight against this mindset. Use the great opportunity of a new beginning, a clean slate, to boldly drive reform in EVERY aspect of the way the government functions,” he said. </p><p>Thiaga Rajan said he was looking forward to a few weeks of time off — of life as a private citizen wholly in control of his time and schedule, while noting that he could not afford the time for many requests to visit and give talks across India.</p><p>He also said he was denied the permission on multiple occasions to travel overseas to accept invitations to lecture or participate in events. A break allows him to answer long-standing requests across the US, Europe, Singapore and Australia.</p><p>“As mentioned earlier, I am already behind the originally committed schedule on a book I have contracted to publish with HarperCollins and will use this time to write. And having reached 60 recently, I hope to focus on a more regular schedule and improved lifestyle, to further improve my health,” Thiaga Rajan added.</p>
<p>Chennai: One of the most articulate faces in the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/dmk">DMK</a>, former Tamil Nadu Finance and IT Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/p-t-r-palanivel-thiaga-rajan">P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan</a> (PTR), who lost the Assembly elections, on Monday announced he was taking a “short break” from active politics to finish writing a book and accept invitations to deliver talks across the country and elsewhere on various topics. </p><p>In a long post on his social media accounts, Thiaga Rajan, a former top banker who plunged into politics in 2016 by successfully contesting the Assembly elections from Madurai (Central) seat, said he shall return “recharged and refreshed” to continue with his passion for public service, and to be an agent of change. </p><p>Thiaga Rajan, who comes from an illustrious family in Madurai whose members have long been associated with the Dravidian movement and the DMK, lost the April 23 Assembly elections to TVK’s V M S Mustafa. He was the all-powerful Finance Minister from 2021 to 2023 before he was shifted to the Information Technology portfolio after a purported audio clip of him talking about how members of the DMK’s first family were running the government and making money went viral on social media. </p><p>“He is taking a three-month break. Nothing more should be read into his statement as he wants to inform people that he won’t be active for a while. He is likely to resume his regular work from mid-August. He wants to travel abroad and deliver talks which he couldn’t due to his ministerial responsibilities,” a source close to Thiaga Rajan told <em>DH</em>.</p>. <p>Thiaga Rajan’s four-page note triggered speculation about his future moves with many faulting the DMK for not “using his expertise” for the whole of its five-year tenure. </p><p>Giving a piece of “unsolicited advice” to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government, Thiaga Rajan said inertia (and a <em>status quo</em> mindset) is the natural tendency of all arms of government, especially the bureaucracy and everyone feels comfortable doing the same things they have already done. </p><p>“But such an approach has been the core failure of democratically elected governments worldwide, especially over the last two decades…If they are to succeed, they must fight against this mindset. Use the great opportunity of a new beginning, a clean slate, to boldly drive reform in EVERY aspect of the way the government functions,” he said. </p><p>Thiaga Rajan said he was looking forward to a few weeks of time off — of life as a private citizen wholly in control of his time and schedule, while noting that he could not afford the time for many requests to visit and give talks across India.</p><p>He also said he was denied the permission on multiple occasions to travel overseas to accept invitations to lecture or participate in events. A break allows him to answer long-standing requests across the US, Europe, Singapore and Australia.</p><p>“As mentioned earlier, I am already behind the originally committed schedule on a book I have contracted to publish with HarperCollins and will use this time to write. And having reached 60 recently, I hope to focus on a more regular schedule and improved lifestyle, to further improve my health,” Thiaga Rajan added.</p>