Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami releasing a ebook on former Minister S. D. Somasundaram at a operate in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: RAGHUNATHAN SR
AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran had his share of critics throughout his lifetime. S.D. Somasundaram (1923-2001), whose beginning centenary was celebrated in Chennai on Friday, was completely different from others as no different chief had opposed MGR as stoutly as he did.
Capturing this side, biographer R. Kannan in his work MGR: A Life said that “no one had mounted a challenge before to MGR’s authority as SDS had and no one had accused him of corruption so openly.” But Somasundaram, additionally known as SDS, went a step additional. He floated a get together — Namadhu Kazhagam — and fielded candidates in 150 Assembly constituencies and 15 Lok Sabha constituencies in 1984. The get together’s efficiency was disastrous. “The most humiliating was that SDS himself lost deposit in his home constituency [of Pattukottai, from where he was elected in 1980 on the AIADMK ticket],” in response to a information merchandise printed by The Hindu on November 17, 1986, after he returned to the AIADMK.
An engineering graduate from Annamalai University, SDS, who was born on February 25, 1923, at Sendangadu of Pattukottai in Thanjavur district, was drawn to politics in his scholar days — initially figuring out himself with the Dravida Kazhagam and later with the DMK. He was the final secretary of the scholars’ wing of the DMK when Annadurai was the get together chief.
In the 1967 Lok Sabha election, SDS shot into fame by defeating the then State Industries Minister, R. Venkataraman, in Thanjavur. He was elected to the House on two extra events. A number of weeks after MGR based the AIADMK in October 1972, SDS was the primary DMK MP to affix him. In May 1978, he grew to become a Minister in the primary AIADMK Ministry and held the portfolios of Revenue and Commercial Taxes for six years. In 1984, he fell out with the then Chief Minister over a variety of issues, together with the sort of significance hooked up in the get together to Jayalalithaa, then an MP.
On the Sri Lankan Tamil query, he was for stronger measures towards the Jayawardene regime. In September 1984, he was dismissed from the Cabinet and expelled from the AIADMK. After working Namadhu Kazhagam for over two years, he returned to the AIADMK in November 1986.
Recalling the connection between MGR and SDS, H.V. Hande, who served as Health Minister (1980-86) in the MGR’s Cabinet, stated, “Like any political people, they [MGR and SDS] fell apart and came together again. Political contradictions do exist.” SDS’ one other colleague, C. Ponnaiyan, who held the portfolios of Transport, Law and Education throughout 1977-1987, asserted that the 2 leaders revered one another’s values. “Just as SDS liked MGR’s humane approach, the latter was appreciative of the former for integrity, honesty and probity in public life,” Mr. Ponnaiyan identified.
SDS was with the faction led by Jayalaithaa after the demise of MGR. In 1991, he was once more elected to the Assembly, this time from Thanjavur. He once more grew to become Revenue Minister and, as a political chief, he toed the road of Jayalalithaa. Five years later, when the get together suffered a main electoral setback, he resigned from the organisation, after Jayalalithaa rebuked him. SDS had later aligned himself with rebels briefly. He once more ran a get together, Puratchi Thalaivar Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which merged itself with the AIADMK when he died in Chennai on December 6, 2001 following a coronary heart assault.
At an occasion organised by the SDS household in Chennai, audio system, led by AIADMK common secretary Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami, recommended SDS for his providers to society. Mr. Palaniswami, who just about unveiled a statue of SDS and launched a Tamil journal, stated he felt privileged to attend the occasion as this was the primary operate for him to participate after changing into the final secretary.
VIT chancellor G. Viswanathan, who was additionally elected to the Lok Sabha for the primary time in 1967 on the DMK ticket, praised the late chief for uprightness. Among those that took half have been TMC (Moopanar) chief G.Ok. Vasan, Dr. Hande, Mr. Ponnaiyan and veteran Tamil nationalist Pazha Nedumaran and MLAs V.V. Rajan Chellappa and O.S. Manian.
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