Condolences pour in on Congress MP Vasanthkumar’s demise

Congress MP from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari H. Vasanthakumar passed away on Friday evening, officials said. He was 70.

Vasanthakumar, who was also the promoter of Vasanth & Co consumer durable retail chain, was admitted to the Apollo Hospital here sometime back after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

He had flagged the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic in parliament earlier this year, suggesting measures to tackle the crisis, only to be interrupted and have his mic cut off.

His condition turned critical on Friday and he breathed his last.

He was the younger brother of veteran Congress leader Kumari Anandan whose daughter is Tamilisai Soundararajan, currently the Telangana Governor.

Vasanthakumar was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanyakumari constituency in 2019, defeating BJP leader and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan.

At that time, he was a sitting member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, elected from Nanguneri seat. He subsequently resigned as an MLA.

The Vasanth & Co consumer durable retail chain is one the largest in the country with about 90 outlets, mostly in Tamil Nadu, and also in Bengaluru and Puducherry.

Meanwhile, political leaders of various parties condoled Vasanthakumar's death.

In her message, Soundararajan said her heart fails to accept that her uncle is no more.

She said the political impact of her father (Kumari Anandan) was there on her as well on Vasanthakumar but journeyed in different paths.

Soundararjan was heading the Tamil Nadu BJP unit before she was posted as Telangana Governor.

Soundararajan said though she is a Governor, she is crying as the daughter of Vasanthakumar's brother.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami said Vasanthakumar began his career as a salesman and rose up in life through his hard work.

Terming Vasanthakumar's death as a big loss for the Congress party Palainiswami said he was pained to hear about his demise due to ill-health.

DMK President M.K. Stalin said he was pained to hear about the death of Vasanthakumar.

Stalin said Vasanthakumar always used to be a pleasant person to move with and a hard worker.

Former Union Minister Radhakrishnan said Vasanthakumar was steadfast on his principles and rose up as an important Congress leader.