Sushil Kumar Modi

Sushil Kumar Modi (born 5 January 1952) is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party who was Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Bihar, India, from 2005 to 2013. He is a lifelong member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was appointed the Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers for the Implementation of Goods and Service Tax in July 2011.

Sushil Modi was born on 5 January 1952 in a Marwari (Vaishya Bania) family. His father was Moti Lal Modi and his mother was Ratna Devi. He has done BSc from B N College, Patna. He graduated Patna Science College and did Botany Hons in 1973. Later he left MSc Botany Course in Patna University, to join social movement started by Jai Prakash Narayan.

During Sino-Indian War of 1962, Modi was active in organising and mobilising the school students and was appointed Commandment by the Civil Defence to train the civilians and students to maintain their physical fitness and teach them to parade. In 1962, Modi became a member of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). In 1968, he did a Three Year Officer’s Training Course (OTC), the highest RSS training course. After Matriculation, he devoted a month as a Vistarak (Whole Time Worker) and worked in Danapur, Khagol starting various RSS branches at different places. Later, he was made the In-charge of evening branches of RSS Patna Town. Modi had a family business of ready-made garments. Against the family wishes of joining family business, he continued with his work for the people.

Sushil Modi was a student leader at Patna University Students Union was General Secretary of Student’s Union in 1973. Lalu Prasad Yadav was the President of the Union that time. In 1974 he became a Member of Bihar Pradesh Chaatra (Student) Sangharsh Samiti which spearheaded the famous Bihar Student’s Movement of 1974. Modi was arrested five times during JP Movement and the Emergency. First time he was arrested in 1974 during student movement in Bihar. He challenged constitutional validity of MISA and the Supreme Court struck down section 9 of MISA as unconstitutional. This was historic judgement. He was booked under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and various other acts from 1973 to 1977. During emergency he was arrested on 30 June 1975 and kept in the prisons of Samastipur, Darbhanga, Buxar, Hazaribagh, Bhagalpur and also in the PMCH Prisoner Ward and remained in Jail for 19 months continuously. He was appointed the State Secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad after emergency was over. From 1977 to 1986, he held different posts including that of State Organising Secretary, Bihar, All India Secretary, in-charge of UP and Bihar and then the All India General Secretary of Vidyarthi Parishad. During this tenure at the top he led a movement against the declaration of Urdu as the second language of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Concerned about the issue of foreign infiltration from Bangladesh in the bordering districts of Bihar he raised the issue and after Assam, a movement against foreign infiltrators was launched in Bihar under his leadership.

Sushil Modi addressing a rally in Nayagaon, Sonpur in 2015

In 1990, he joined active politics and successfully contested from Patna Central Assembly (now known as Kumhrar (Vidhan Sabha constituency)). He was re-elected in 1995 & 2000. In 1990, he was made the Chief Whip of the BJP Bihar Legislature Party. From 1996 till 2004 he was the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly. He filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court against Lalu Prasad Yadav, which was later known as Fodder Scam. He became a member of Lok Sabha in 2004 representing the constituency of Bhagalpur.

He was the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in a short lived Nitish Kumar government in 2000. He supported the formation of the State of Jharkhand.

In 2005 Bihar election, NDA came to power and Modi was elected the leader of Bihar BJP Legislature Party. He subsequently resigned from the Lok Sabha and took over as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. He was given the Finance Portfolio along with a number of other departments. After NDA victory in 2010 Bihar elections, he continued to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. Modi did not contest the 2005 and 2010 Bihar Assembly elections to be able to campaign for BJP.

Modi married Jessie George in 1987 in an inter-caste and an inter-religious marriage. Jessie George hails from Mumbai.