TN Minister Palanivelrajan passes away

The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Minister PTR Palanivelrajan suffered a massive heart attack while travelling in a train and died at a private hospital at Dindigul early on Saturday morning.

74-year-old Palanivelrajan, who was elected from the Madurai Central Constituency, was also the speaker of state Assembly between 1996 and 2001.

He is survived by his wife Rukmani and a son, who is working in United States.

Officials said that the minister complained of chest pain in the train. He was rushed to the hospital where the doctors said that he had suffered a massive heart attack and died, officials said.

The DMK minister, a good speaker in both English and Tamil, was the leader of the now defunct Justice Party.