Steady and stoic

Raju Narayana swamy is not the kind who sulk in the face of adversity. After being shunted out from important portfolios and given a token responsibility as the secretary of parliamentar

Raju Narayaa swamy is not the kind who sulk in the face of adversity. After being shunted out from important portfolios and given a token responsibility as the secretary of parliamentary affairs department, Narayanaswamy has moved back to his childhood passion — studies. His mission is to prepare papers on subjects as varied as e-governance to nanotechnology and present them in international academic seminars.

Courting controversies

Narayanaswamy hogged the limelight by stepping into territories where angels feared to tread. Controversies followed him because he refused to deviate from the path of truth as wished by the political bosses. Naturally, he got transferred to almost all parts of Kerala. “If I rate my work as a collector, the road widening undertaken in Thrissur will top the list. I had to demolish a series of unauthorised buildings to widen the busy Pattalam road in Thrissur. Even today, I feel a sense of pride when I travel along that way,” he recollects. As district collector, Kottayam, he conducted a massive raid in food grain godowns, which unearthed a big scam orchestrated by a nexus of officials and businessmen.But, the greatest controversy involving Raju Narayanaswamy was ‘Operation Munnar’ launched by the then chief minister VS Achuthanandan in 2007. The operation, which saw the demolition of several unauthorised buildings including a party office, naturally earned him the wrath of political bosses. Finally, succumbing to pressure from his party, VS dismantled the three-member brigade that led the drive and Narayanaswamy was posted in Pathanamthitta. But, it was his falling out with the state education minister MA Baby that turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Narayanaswamy. He was shunted out of the education department as he refused to obey the minister’s directive to protect a corrupt official. As there were no takers for him, the government posted him at the parliamentary affairs department where there is little work for a senior civil servant.