Tha Pandian, CPI chief near Jayalalithaa and Rajiv Gandhi, dies at 88

Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) chief Tha Pandian died at a Chennai hospital on Friday morning. He was 88.
One of probably the most outstanding orators of his era, Pandian was additionally energetic in commerce union works in Tamil Nadu in addition to Delhi. Over the previous few years, the CPI chief had been present process remedy for renal issues however although wheelchair-bound, he was nonetheless energetic in politics, holding his final public assembly as lately as on February 18 in Madurai.
The former Lok Sabha member was hospitalised on Wednesday after his well being deteriorated and was on life assist for 2 days earlier than succumbing.

Though a senior CPI member, Pandian was recognized for his camaraderie with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. His proximity to AIADMK management specifically had typically triggered controversies and criticism from inside Left circles at a time when each the CPI and CPI(M) had been AIADMK allies.
In 1991, Pandian, then a candidate of the Porur parliamentary constituency, was touring Tamil Nadu with Rajiv Gandhi when a suicide bomber assassinated the previous PM. Pandian had been severely injured within the explosion, recalling to The Indian Express in late 2018 that he was pierced by over 100 pellets and nails within the blast.
“Lying half-conscious, I thought a cracker had misfired. As I was shifted to hospital in Chennai, I had no idea Rajiv was killed,” Pandian had mentioned.
Despite the trauma of the incident, Pandian would demand the discharge of the seven convicts within the assassination case, writing to Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit in October 2018 — a month after the state authorities had advisable the discharge of all seven convicts.

“Releasing these people offers an opportunity for India and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi to show the world how they reformed convicts in such a high-profile case. Those who are wise can do that,” he had mentioned.