Key Points:
Under Rajiv Gandhi's government, one of their MP Chandulal Chandrakar resigned suddenly in 1986.
Journalist Satish Tyagi claimed that Chandulal was unable to answer Vinod Dua’s questions on his show, Janvani (People’s Voice), which led to his resignation.
An archival Los Angeles Times report linked Chandrakar’s resignation to allegations that he had accepted free trips to Taiwan from businessman Rama Swaroop, who was involved in an international espionage case.
TWO MONTHS AFTER former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tendered his resignation on July 25, 2026, following the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, it is believed to have altered the course of Indian politics. With a new emerging trend of staging protests, demonstrations, and demanding resignations for accountability in the Gen Z era, a lesser-known chapter from the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi comes to light.
The incident dates back to the 1980s, right after Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India following the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in 1984. He held the position from 1984 to 1989.
Under the Rajiv Gandhi government, one of its Members of Parliament (MPs), Chandulal Chandrakar, had resigned suddenly in 1986. There are two versions of the story that tell us the reason behind Chandulal’s resignation, which has barely left any trail on the internet decades later.
However, recently, journalist Satish Tyagi referred to the resignation of Chandulal Chandrakar following the CJP protest, which officially concluded on July 25, 2026. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Gurukul of Politics, journalists Satish Tyagi and Dharmendra Kanwari talked about Gen Z, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Pradhan’s resignation.
Satish Tyagi gave an example of a time when an MP resigned under the Rajiv Gandhi government. In 1985, a prominent journalist named Vinod Dua, who worked at Doordarshan, interviewed Chandulal Chandrakar. Tyagi claimed that Chandulal was unable to answer Vinod Dua’s questions on his show, Janvani (People’s Voice). Dua anchored the show, where common people asked questions directly to ministers.
Later, Rajiv Gandhi got wind of the matter, where a minister was allegedly unable to answer questions related to his ministry. Satish Tyagi claimed that this was the reason Chandulal Chandrakar resigned in 1986. Chandrakar had served as the Minister of Tourism, Agriculture, Civil Aviation, and Rural Development. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1970.
See Also: How Was Rajiv Gandhi’s Body Identified After the Assassination?
In another version, an archival report by the Los Angeles Times, dated January 29, 1986, stated that three senior Indian government officials, including Chandulal Chandrakar, had suddenly resigned. The report further added that Chandrakar, among others, had accepted free trips to Taiwan from an Indian businessman named Rama Swaroop, who was involved in an espionage case. The espionage case involved countries including the United States, Taiwan, West Germany, and Israel.
According to the Los Angeles Times report, Chandulal Chandrakar, India’s first Electronics Minister M.S. Sanjeevi Rao, and former Union Minister K.P. Singh Deo resigned. Delhi-based businessman Rama Swaroop was accused of obtaining confidential information for foreign countries. The report further claimed that Swaroop had offered free trips to government officials and MPs in order to obtain important information.
Chandulal Chandrakar was born in Durg district, Chhattisgarh. He was born into a family of farmers and later became a prominent journalist and politician. He passed away in 1995.
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(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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