CHENNAI/ THOOTHUKUDI: Veteran DMK leader and Thoothukudi South district secretary N Periasamy passed away after a brief illness in Chennai on Friday. He was 78. He is survived by three sons and three daughters. One of them, Geetha Jeevan, is an ex-minister and sitting MLA.
Known to be a headstrong loyalist of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, the senior leader held the reins in Thoothukudi for about three decades.
The two-time MLA had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kilpauk, where he breathed his last in the morning, party sources said.
Later, his body was moved to Sri Ramachandra Hospital, Porur, for embalming before being taken to Thoothukudi, where the last rites would be performed on Sunday.
The DMK headquarters has announced a three-day mourning by cancelling all party events. The party’s various units were asked to fly the DMK flag half-mast, a release said. DMK working president MK Stalin, wife Durga and sister Selvi, along with several senior leaders paid their last respects to the veteran leader.
Expressing shock Stalin said, “The organisational spirit he showed will last forever. The grief over losing a proud cadre of the party has shaken us.”
MDMK general secretary Vaiko visited the hospital to pay floral tributes.
Joining DMK at a young age in 1960, Periasamy held several posts in the party, from the union secretary to State executive committee member. He became district secretary in 1987 and held the post till his last spanning 30 years.
He also led several labour unions that included Madura Coats Workers Union, Salt Packing Labourers Association, Autorickshaw and Construction Workers Unions, all affiliated to Labour Progressive Front (LPF), playing a key role in organising
the workers.
Periasamy, who Karunanidhi described as his ‘Murattu Bhakthan’, was elected chairman of Thoothukudi Municipality in 1986. Three years later, the powerful leader of the Pearl City was first elected to the Assembly and his second victory came in 1996.
Periasamy’s daughter Geetha Jeevan won the Assembly election in 2006 and went on to become the Minister for Fisheries. In the 2016, she was reelected from Thoothukudi.
The demise of Periasamy is said to have triggered a power struggle in the district unit.