C.M. Poonacha
| C. M. Poonacha | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Indian Parliament for Mangalore |
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In office 1967–1971 |
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| Preceded by | Adhur Shanker Alva |
| Succeeded by | K. K. Shetty |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Cheppudira Muthanna Poonacha 26 September 1910 Attur, Coorg Province, British India |
| Died | 7 August 1990 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Freedom Fighter, Politician |
| Known for | Only Chief Minister of Coorg (Kodagu) |
Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha usually referred to as C. M. Poonacha was Chief Minister of Coorg, Minister in Mysore State, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha), Union Railway Minister of India and Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
C. M. Poonacha was a descendant of the Coorg Dewans. During the Freedom Movement he was sentenced to imprisonment twice during the Salt Satyagraha in 1932 and 1933. He was again imprisoned in 1940–41. and in 1942–44. He became a member of All-India Congress Committee in 1938. Also, in 1938 he was elected to Coorg District Board, became its President in 1941 and in 1945 he was elected to Coorg Legislative Council. From 1945 to 1951 he was leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the Council. He hence became a prominent member of the Indian National Congress party in Coorg.
In 1947 Coorg was a separate state in South India until 1956. The other states of South India at that time were Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency, Mysore kingdom, Travancore kingdom, Cochin kingdom and Hyderabad kingdom. The Coorg State Assembly had a strength of 24 members and the Cabinet consisted of just two members.
C M Poonacha represented the Coorg state as a member of the Constituent Assembly.
Two parties fought the 1952 state elections: the Takkadi ('Scales of Justice') party under veteran Gandhian Pandyanda Belliappa, who was a dominant political force and voice of Coorg with its anti-merger plank, and the Congress under C.M. Poonacha in Coorg. Poonacha was elected Chief Minister of Coorg State (1952–56) in the first general elections. Coorg had two MPs in the Union Parliament then, besides having a state legislative body. In 1956 the State Reorganisation Act was passed. Coorg was merged with Mysore and the legislative body at Mercara dissolved. While the Chief Minister was C.M. Poonacha, (who also held the finance portfolio), the only other Minister was Home Minister, Kittur Mallappa. C.M. Poonacha had won the Beriathnad seat while K. Mallappa won the second seat from Sanivarasante. The Congress won 15 seats and Independents (opposing merger), represented by the Takkadi party, won nine seats. Under various circumstances Coorg was merged with the then Mysore in 1956. This election was widely controversial as it was believed that many people from nearby districts of Hunsur, Mysore and Mandya were brought to Kodagu to vote as the government of Karnataka(Congress) believed people of Kodagu will vote overwhelmingly in opposition of the merger. The head of State was the Chief Commissioner, Colonel Dayasingh Bedi. As the governor’s equivalent, Colonel Bedi was presiding over the meetings of the Cabinet.
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