Former union Minister Aravinda Bala Pazhanoor passes away

Former Union Minister Aravinda Bala Pazhanoor passed away due to old age in the USA, family sources here said.
He was 78 and is survived by his wife, a son and daughter, all of whom have settled in the USA.
Pazhanoor, who settled in the USA a decade back, passed away on March 20 and his body would be laid to rest in that country on March 27, they said.
Pazhanoor, who was an AIADMK MP, had served as Petroleum Minister in the Charan Singh Cabinet in 1979.
A native of Thiruvettakudi village in Karaikal, he represented Puducherry twice in the Lok Sabha. He was a member of the fifth and sixth Lok Sabha.

He was the first person from a Dravidian party to become Union Minister.