Two-time PMK MLA and firebrand Vanniyar Sangam leader ‘Kaduvetti’ J. Guru, aged 57, died at a private hospital on Friday. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
A native of Kaduvetti in Ariyalur, Mr. Guru was the son of local CPI leader Jayaraman. Mr. Guru got involved in the movement spearheaded by PMK founder S. Ramadoss in the 1980s seeking reservation for the Vanniyars. Mr. Guru became one of his trusted lieutenants. While Dr Ramadoss took care of the PMK, the task of mobilising the Vanniyar community in favour of the party was left to Mr. Guru.
He was first elected to the Assembly in 2001 from Andimadam and in 2011 from Jayamkondam. He was the leader of the PMK legislature party during the second tenure. He lost the Assembly elections in 2006 and 2016. He contested unsuccessfully from the Tiruvannamalai Lok Sabha constituency in 2009. Though articulate, he did not shine in Assembly debates. He faced many cases for making inflammatory speeches. In 2008, he was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) for threatening the then Union Minister A. Raja and DMK MLA Sivasankar while addressing a public meeting. Again, in 2013, he was arrested for making a hate speech. Subsequently, the NSA was slapped against him. He had been suffering from interstitial lung disease for several months, and underwent a tracheotomy.
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Dr. Ramadoss condoled his death.