 "Former Puducherry CM Ramachandran dies at 90 due to age-related ailments")
Senior politician and former Chief Minister of Puducherry M D R Ramachandran died on Sunday evening at his residence here due to age-related ailments, Congress party sources said.
He was 90.
Ramachandran was a two-time chief minister of the union territory when he was with DMK. He first served as chief minister in 1980 and headed the then DMK-Congress coalition ministry which lasted in office for three years.
He again became chief minister in 1990 and headed a short-lived DMK-Janata Dal coalition ministry for a year.
Ramachandran quit the DMK and joined the Congress in 2000 and became the Speaker of the territorial Assembly in 2001 when the Congress formed the ministry under the leadership of N Rangasamy. He then became the vice-president of the Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee.
He promoted the cooperative movement in the union territory.
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Puducherry PCC president and Lok Sabha member V Vaithilingam expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Ramachandran.
Vaithilingam told PTI that Ramachandran dedicated his life to serving the people and was committed to promoting the welfare of the poor. He actively participated in various movements. His death is a loss to the Congress, Vaithilingam said, and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.