Former Puducherry Minister Renuka Appadurai passes away

PUDUCHERRY: Former Puducherry education minister and Congress leader Renuka Appadurai died here today following cardiac ailment.

General Secretary of the Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee, 75-year old Appadurai passed away at the Government Hospital here. She is survived by her only son. Her husband Appadurai predeceased her, her family members said.

The Union Territory assembly, now in session, paid homage to her.

Speaker V Sabapathy made an obituary reference to the death of Appadurai and recalled her services to the union territory. All the members stood in silence briefly.

Appadurai, a Professor of Economics in the Government Tagore Arts College here, quit teaching profession and joined politics in 1979.

She was elected to the assembly from Reddiarpalayam constituency in 1980 and became the Education Minister in the DMK-Congress coalition ministry.

She had also headed Puducherry State Social Welfare Board and State Women's Commission. She was running voluntary organisations for the welfare of the young children and the aged.