Among the more low profile members of the government, Ram Naik took over as a Cabinet minister (Petroleum and Natural Gas) when the BJP came to power in October 1999. Before that, he was a Minister of State for Railways (independent charge), Home Affairs and Planning & Programme Implementation.
Naik has been with the saffron fold from the days of the Jana Sangh. Starting from the grassroots, he remained the BJP's Mumbai unit chief for four terms, and is now representing a Mumbai constituency in Parliament for a record fifth term. In fact, he won the last Lok Sabha polls with the highest number of votes in Maharashtra. Naik remained a member of several parliamentary committees from 1989 t0 1997, and also chaired the Public Accounts Committee in 1995-96. He served as the BJP's chief whip in the last three terms of the Lok Sabha, and is currently a member of the party's national executive.
As a parliamentarian, he is credited with several achievements, including Bombay's rechristening as Mumbai, the establishment of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation and the ban on baby food advertisements (to promote breast-feeding). He ranks among the top 10 ministers of the Vajpayee cabinet, according to an ORG-MARG survey.
However, he has often been in the news for the wrong reasons, and has been charged with corruption in the infamous petrol pump scam. He is also known to be against privatisation, and has had public tiffs with Union minister Arun Shourie over the divestment of HPCL and BPCL.
{{/usCountry}}However, he has often been in the news for the wrong reasons, and has been charged with corruption in the infamous petrol pump scam. He is also known to be against privatisation, and has had public tiffs with Union minister Arun Shourie over the divestment of HPCL and BPCL.
{{/usCountry}}Born in Sangli, Maharashtra in 1934, Naik is known to be a family man and has a wife and two daughters. He is a trained lawyer and worked as a company secretary before joining politics.