Roshan Baig, one of the most prominent Muslim politicians from Indian National Congress – Karnataka, was an active member of the NSUI and Youth Congress during his student days. He defeated well-known film maker Nagathihalli Chandrashekar for the post of General Secretary at RC College in hi9s student days.
However his political career did not begin with the INC. Despite his close proximity to Congress leader Lalith Maken (who was killed in the aftermath of the 1984 Sikh riots) who was the observer for the Karnataka elections, he was denied a ticket by the Congress. He won the Shivajinagar Constituency on Janata Party ticket in 1985. He was given a Ministerial berth handling Fisheries and WAKF.
He came back to the Congress after the Janata Party split into JD(U) and JD(S). He has held multiple ministerial berths with many governments including that of Urban Development, Home, Tourism etc. His stature as a minority leader has been reinforced with him being given the responsibility for WAKF and Haj multiple times. He was named in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, popularly called the Telgi Scam, however there has been no conviction.
He has held multiple roles as a sports administrator in cricket and football clubs. He runs a private educational institution, Bismillah Education Trust and also runs an Urdu newspaper.
He handled Ministry of Urban Development in Siddaramaiah government.
Affidavit and income:
According to his affidavits, Baig’s income rose from Rs 87,40,770 in 2013 to Rs 1,15,38,415 in 2018. His wife’s income rose from Rs 1,540 in 2013 to Rs 4,44,000 in 2018.
His movable assets are valued at Rs 7,62,92,245 and his wife’s assets are valued at Rs 1,14,63,144 according to his 2018 affidavit.
His immovable assets are valued at Rs 25,30,73,500 and his wife’s assets are valued at Rs 2,15,00,000 according to his 2018 affidavit.
He has liabilities of Rs 15,88,05,400 and his wife has liabilities of Rs 1,69,98,200 according to his 2018 affidavit.
There is a Lokayukta case pending against him, in which B report has been filed but the complainant has filed a protest memo against it.
He is a director in Daanish Publications Private Limited and Ruman Enterprises Private Limited according to the data available in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Roshan Baig in the news
Citizen Oriented Work
December 3, 2014: Roshan Baig was present along with Minister of Women and Child Development Umashree, to hand out awards to teachers and organisations helping the welfare of disabled people, to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
January 13, 2015: During an inauguration of a minority hostel for boys in Vijayapura District, he appealed to Muslim scholars to pragmatically take the decision to let Kannada be the first language of instruction, and teach Urdu as a separate subject.
Aug 4, 2016: An Islamic cultural centre of sorts, Haj Bhavan, will have activities around the year, even during the non-Haj season in Bengaluru, Baig announced. He was speaking at the inauguration of Mangaluru Haj Bhavan, close to the Manguluru Airport.
October 22, 2016: BJP leader Suresh C Angadi approached the Urban Development Minister seeking to speed up the procedural delays holding back the implementation of the Smart City Project in Belagavi.
November 12, 2016: The Urban Development Minister heard recommendations from representatives of real estate and builders associations in Karnataka to make final changes to the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016 according to their needs, cutting out the red tapism.
September 28, 2017: Minister for Urban Development, Roshan Baig, despite having reservations on the congestion at Cantonment Railway Station said he would put his weight behind experts batting for the metro station to be set up at this location.
March 7, 2018: Roshan Baig was expected to preside over the event laying the foundation stone for renovating the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, according to an announcement published in The Hindu.
Politics and accusations
November 4, 2016: BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje accused the MLA of instigating the murder of RSS worker Rudresh, who was killed in Shivajinagar. Baig said he was open to any sort of inquiry in the matter and that he had zero involvement with the deceased.
October 13, 2017: Roshan Baig landed in a controversy when he indirectly blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting. This came up during the talk about the demonetisation scheme affecting the poor. The BJP demanded his resignation and asked for an apology as a video went viral.
November 21, 2017: In the Legislative Council meeting, Baig compared environmentalists who put the needs of animals above humans to communal fundamentalists, calling them environmental fundamentalists. This was in response to the council’s discussion on the pig and dog menace in Hubballi-Dharwad.
January 15, 2018: His company, Ruman Enterprises Pvt Limited, has been served a notice for committing a violation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act ( FEMA) by the Enforcement Directorate. Several members of the Baig family are named in the notice.
March 7, 2017: Urban Development and Haj Minitser Roshan Baig said a project has been envisioned in Mysuru with collaboration of World Bank and Rural Land Transport Directorate, at a cost of Rs 22.5 crores. The project will include 450 cycles in near bus stands and railway stations, to encourage cycling in the city.