Leaders condole Pandian’s death

‘His demise is a loss to political as well as legal community’

Political leaders cutting across party lines have condoled the death of former Assembly Speaker P.H. Pandian.

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday expressed his condolences to the family of the AIADMK bigwig, who passed away after a prolonged illness.

In a statement, Mr. Stalin said Mr. Pandian had served in the State Assembly and in the Lok Sabha as the Member of Parliament from Tirunelveli.

“Though P.H. Pandian was politically opposed to the DMK, former DMK president M. Karunanidhi liked him. The reason for that was his belief in Dravidian ethos, viewpoints, self-respect and determination,” he said. Mr. Pandian’s passing was a loss not just to political leaders but also to the legal community, he added.

DMDK president Vijayakant said Mr. Pandian was fair when he held the Speaker’s chair. “I express my condolences to his family, his relatives and his party,” he said.

PMK founder S. Ramadoss said Mr. Pandian was elected to the Assembly before he even turned 40, and performed well. “Though he took certain decisions that were controversial, he was bold in [taking] his decisions. Mr. Pandian, who had been a member of the Assembly four times and a Lok Sabha MP once, was also a formidable lawyer and an educator,” he said.

‘Gone too soon’

MDMK chief Vaiko said the leader had gone too soon. “Political differences aside, Mr. Pandian was someone who was cordial. He was friendly to me and performed well in Parliament,” he said.

Tamil Maanila Congress leader G.K. Vasan said Mr. Pandian’s death was a great loss for the AIADMK. “He was a confidante to MGR, Jayalalithaa and Moopanar,” he said.

Governor Of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan said he was one of the strongest leaders from south Tamil Nadu.