Former Puducherry: MP and Minister P.Kannan, who had also served
as Speaker of the Territorial Assembly, died at a private hospital after a prolonged illness.
He was 74 and is survived by wife, a son and daughter, family sources said.
He was admitted to a private hospital a few days back due to low blood pressure and breathing
probems.
Mr Kannan, who has been suffering from chronic lung disease, died last night, hospital said in a statement.
He died of viral pneumonia, the hospital said.
Mr Kannan,who had started his political career in the Indian Youth Congress, had held key
positions in the Youth Congress and Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee and had
also served as the Puducherry Home Minister.
He had quit Congress over differences with the local leadership of the party and joined the
Tamil Manila Congress formed by late G.K. Moopanar in 1996. A few years later, he merged
the TMC faction of Puducherry with Congress, but broke away from his parent party again
in 2001 and floated the Puducherry Makkal Congress.
A year later, he again merged the party with Congress only to part ways in 2005 and started
his own political outfit–the Puducherry Munnetra Congress.
He was nominated to the Upper House of Parliament after merging his party with the Congress,
later quit it again, joined the AIADMK and unsuccessfully contested the 2016 Assembly. Hen
later quit the AIADMK formed another party Makkal Munnetra Congress, before joining the BJP
ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.
Recently, he had quit the BJP to registered his protest against the violence in Manipur.
Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K.Stalin and PMK
Founder Dr.S. Ramadoss and leaders of various parties condoled the death of Mr Kannan.
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