Former TN Deputy Speaker passed away

Former deputy speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly and AIADMK leader P Srinivasan died in Chennai after a prolonged illness, family sources said.

He was 72 and is survived by his wife and a son.

A leading light of the anti-Hindi agitation that rocked the state in 1965, Srinivasan emerged as a giant killer when he defeated late K Kamaraj in his home turf of Virudunagar in the 1967 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, which saw the end of Congress rule in the state.

As a student leader, he spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation in which several people were killed in police firing. He became deputy speaker of the assembly in 1971.

He was again elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly in 1989, defeating Ayyappan, father of famous actress Sridevi.

He joined the AIADMK in 1992.