Parakala Prabhakar
Indian political economist and commentator (born 1959)
- Political commentator
- political economist
Parakala Prabhakar (born 2 January 1959) is an Indian political economist and social commentator. He served as Communications Advisor, held a cabinet rank position in Andhra Pradesh Government between July 2014 and June 2018. For several years he presented a current affairs discussion programme on television channels of Andhra Pradesh. His programmes, Pratidhwani on ETV2 and Namaste Andhra Pradesh on NTV.[1] He was also a former spokesman and one of the founding general secretaries of Praja Rajyam Party.[2] In the early 2000s, Parakala was the spokesperson of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP.[3] He is the spouse of the incumbent union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India, Nirmala Sitharaman
Personal life
Parakala was born in a prominent Telugu Brahmin family[4] in Narsapuram, Andhra Pradesh. He belongs to Congress members' family. His mother, Parakala Kalikamba was a Member of Legislative Assembly in Andhra Pradesh, while his father, Parakala Seshavatharam, was a long time Legislator from Narasapuram and served in three successive Cabinets in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the 1970s and early 1980s. Parakala completed his doctorate from the London School of Economics. He did his Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
Prabhakar married Nirmala Sitharaman in 1986, who became the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India in Narendra Modi's cabinet. They have a daughter.
Political career
He was one of the founding members of the Praja Rajyam Party and was appointed as a spokesperson of the party.[5] However, in April 2009, he quit the party, a few months before the state election, citing disagreements with the party's functioning.[6]
References
- ^ "Parakala punctures Praja Rajyam". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ TNM Staff (19 June 2018). "AP govt advisor and Nirmala Sitharaman's husband Parakala Prabhakar quits, blames Jagan". www.thenewsminute.com. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "Parakala Prabhakar puts in his papers" "The New Indian Express", 20 June 2018
- ^ "A power couple whom AP looks up to". Times of India. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ Arikatla, Venkat (5 September 2008). "Interview: 'We'll sweep next polls'". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Praja Rajyam spokesman spits venom, quits". Hindustan Times. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
4. Review of The Crooked Timber of New India — Essays on a Republic in Crisis: India after 2014 The Hindu June 08, 2023 | Updated June 09, 2023
