TIRUNELVELI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated the statue and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam opened the manimandapam of former Assembly Speaker PH Pandian at Govindhaperi in Cheranmahadevi on the occasion of his first death anniversary on Monday. Speaking during the function, Palaniswami said that Pandian was an exceptional lawyer who joined the AIADMK when the party was still in its infancy.
“Only after he became the speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1985 that the public realised the power of the chair. It was due to his efforts that Nanguneri-Pachaiyaru project, which had been pending for over 30 years, was completed. He also appeared on behalf of the Nanguneri Kodimudiyaru project case in 1990 in Supreme Court and received the approval from the court to continue the project,” the Chief Minister said.
Palaniswami said that Pandian was also the reason behind the establishment of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University College in Govindhaperi. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said that former Chief Minister MGR let Pandian join the AIADMK after noticing his skills as a lawyer. He also noted the former Speaker’s contributions towards developing his constituency.
Former MP and MLA PH Manoj Pandian, ministers VM Rajalakshmi, Kadambur Raju, Sellur Raju, RB Udhayakumar, Special representative to the State government at New Delhi, N Thalavai Sundaram, MLA IS Inbathurai and many senior leaders took part in the event. After the event, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam visited Ambasamudram MLA Murugaiah Pandian at Ambasamudram as he was ill.
Earlier, a few vehicles that were tailing the car of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam from Thoothukudi airport to Cheranmahadevi met with an accident near Vallanadu. Sources said the accident happened when the driver of a car that was following the Chief Minister’s vehicle applied brakes to avoid hitting a cow that was standing on the road.