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.