Veteran Congress leader and former TNCC President Kumari Ananthan passed away at a private hospital in the city late on Tuesday night due to age-related issues.
Ananthan, who is the father of senior BJP Leader and former Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lt.Governor Ms Tamilisai Soundararajan, was 93.
He was admitted to a private hospital a few days back, where he breathed his last.
One of the senir politicians of Tami Nadu and a Congress stalwart, who had guided the party in difficult times and fought for the rights of the State, Ananthan is also the elder brother of former Congress MP late Vasantha Kumar.
Leaders of various political parties, condoled his death and said it was a great
loss not only to the Congress party, India, TN and the literary world.
A freedom fighter, Kumari Ananthan was born in Agatheswaram in the southern Kaniyakumari district in 1933, and had a special love for Tamil literature.
After joining politics, Ananthan, a staunch follower of late CM and Congress icon K Kamaraj, was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1977 polls from Nagercoil which eventually turned to be a Congress pocketborough with his brother Vasanth Kumar and later his son-in-law (Vasanth Kumar’s son) getting elected to Parliament from it.
Having entered Parliament, Ananthan was the first to raise questions in Tamil and fought for the rights of refelection of all regional languages in the House.
After forming his political outfit Gandhi Kamaraj Congress Party and got elected to the State Assembly in 1980 from Tiruvottriyur Assembly seat in Chennai, he was re-elected again in 1984 from the seat.
After merging his party with the Indian National Congresss, he was elected to the
State Assembly in 1989 ad 1991 elections as a Congress candidates, before being elevated as the TNCC President in 1996.
Despite losing successive Lok Sabha polls in 1996 and 1998, he continued to strive for the welfare of the people and continued his political activities raising people’s issues and fighting for their rights.
A literary icon, he had authored several books and had undertaken Padayatras highlighting the grievances of the people and served as the guiding light of future politicians.