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Thursday, Nov 09, 2006
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Former Speaker dead

Tamil Nadu Bureau

Kalimuthu was known for his fiery speeches and wit

K. Kalimuthu

CHENNAI/MADURAI: Former Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker and a Minister in the MGR cabinet, K. Kalimuthu (64), known for his fiery speeches and quick wit, passed away in a private hospital in Chennai.

Mr. Kalimuthu, who was ailing for some time, was admitted to Apollo Hospital a few days ago, as he was suffering from septicaemia. The hospital said that he succumbed to a heart attack.

`Navukkarasar' (King of Oratory), as he was fondly called, Mr. Kalimuthu, an MGR loyalist, kept the crowd enthralled each time he held the microphone. As Speaker from 2001 to 2006, he won many a banter with the Opposition benches with his vast knowledge of Tamil literature and history. Even when seniors from the Opposition tried to unsettle him by quoting his comments against some AIADMK leaders that were made when he was in the rival camp, Mr. Kalimuthu, drawing upon his wit, responded with poise and dignity.

In 2003, Mr. Kalimuthu provoked countrywide outrage when, acting on a resolution of the Assembly, he ordered the arrest of senior journalists of The Hindu . The Supreme Court stayed his hand, and the resolution was withdrawn in 2004.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections in 2006, Mr.Kalimuthu, who was named presidium chairman of the party, took to his new job with renewed vigour. He was campaigning hard all over the State, when a stroke confined him to bed. Though Mr. Kalimuthu was named the AIADMK candidate to contest from the Madurai Central constituency, he had to withdraw on health grounds. Although he was hospitalised on a few occasions recently and was ailing with heart problems, the AIADMK strongman still found time to take part in party agitations and campaigns.

Mr. Kalimuthu was in the DMK in the early 1970s, when Mr. Karunanidhi was Chief Minister. He later switched camps and joined Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, founded by MGR. Mr. Kalimuthu was a staunch supporter of the Sri Lankan Tamil cause during the MGR rule. For a brief period after MGR's death, he returned to the DMK, only to rejoin the AIADMK later under Ms. Jayalalithaa.

An agriculturist from Ramuthevanpatti in Virudhunagar district, Mr. Kalimuthu began his public life as the Ramuthevanpatti panchayat president. After a two-year-stint there, he was elected to the Assembly from Sivakasi in 1971 on the DMK ticket. He served as Local Administration Minister and Agriculture Minister in the MGR Cabinet. The five-time MLA was also elected to the Lok Sabha from Sivakasi in 1989.

Affinity with Madurai

Mr. Kalimuthu had a long association with Madurai. He graduated from the Thiagarajar College and did his post graduation and Ph.D in the Madurai Kamaraj University. During the World Tamil Conference in 1981, he wrote the script for the famous `Sound and Light' show at the Mannar Tirumalai Naicker Palace. When elected from the Tirumangalam constituency in Madurai district, he was made the Speaker. He served the AIADMK as its deputy general secretary and party presidium chairman.

The literary skills of the former Speaker were aptly demonstrated in his books, over a hundred in number — `Tholkappia Elakia Kolkaiyum, Karuthongaiyum' and `Mannar Tirumalai.' Party sources said Mr. Kalimuthu also penned dialogues for MGR's blockbuster `Indrupol Endrum Vazhga.'

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