Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, who single handedly took on the ruling AIADMK in the Tamil Nadu Assembly between 1991 and 1996, before joining the ruling party, died in Chennai on Saturday. He was 58.
The DMK was routed in the 1991 elections, held in the wake of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, and he was one of the two MLAs to represent the party in the Assembly.
His performance greatly pleased the DMK leadership and he was made the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly after the DMK came to power in 1996. He became the Minister of Information in the DMK government between 2006 and 2011.
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He was also arrested on charges of privilege of the Assembly in 2003.
In the DMK he identified with Maran Brothers and had difference of opinion with the DMK president M.K. Stalin. He joined the AIADMK in 2013.
Parithi Ilamvazhuthi first elected from the Perambur Constituency when he was 25, by defeating Sathyavani Muthu, who served as a minister in the government’s led by C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi. Subsequently he was elected from Egmore constituency for five times.
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