Arun Kumar Nehru (24 April 1944 – 25 July 2013) was an Indian politician and columnist. He was member of the 9th Lok Sabha from Bilhaur as a Janata Dal leader. Earlier, he was member of the 7th and 8th Lok Sabhas from Rae Bareli on an Indian National Congress ticket. In his political career, Nehru served in various ministerial positions, including serving as the Minister of State for Home Affairs from September 1985 to October 1986. Nehru was also a member of the V. P. Singh cabinet.
Early life and background
Arun Nehru was born on 24 April 1944. His father was Anand Kumar Nehru, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Career
He worked as a businessman for 17 years before entering into politics. He was president of the paint firm Jenson and Nicholson at the time when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi persuaded him to change career. Following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984, Nehru played a key role in ensuring Rajiv Gandhi's appointment as Prime Minister by persuading then-President of India, Zail Singh, to appoint Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister before he was even elected as the party leader. Nehru also contributed to development of the Special Protection Group.
He was also a member of various committees - Railway Convention Committee (1980–84), Consultative Committee, External Affairs and Science and Technology, 7th Lok Sabha; Member, Consultative Committee, External Affairs (1987–89). The riots broke out after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi. According to then petroleum secretary Avtar Singh Gill, Rajiv Gandhi 's "errand boy", Lalit Suri informed him at the eve of the massacre that Arun Nehru gave "clearance" for the killings in Delhi. His strategy was to "catch Sikh youth, fling a tyre over their heads, douse them with kerosene and set them on fire." He further retorted, "This will calm the anger of the Hindus".
Czech pistol case
During his tenure as Minister of State in the Home Ministry from 1985–86, he was allegedly involved in the Czech pistol case, where a deal with the Czechoslovak firm Merkuria Foreign Trade Corp had resulted in a loss of around . A 20-year investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) led to submission of a report in 2007. This found no incriminating evidence. The trial court, however, rejected the CBI report and found Nehru's involvement enough to continue the proceedings. In March 2013, the Supreme Court stayed those proceedings, based on the report. He has 3 grandsons. Akhil Madan, Yash Madan and Vickram Tikkoo.