Tamil Nadu: Former Speaker of Legislative Assembly Sedapatti Muthiah passes away at a private hospital

Madurai: Former Union Minister and former Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Sedapatti Muthiah, 77, passed away at a private hospital in Madurai on Wednesday.
In the early stages of the Dravidian Movement, R. Muthiah entered politics as a Student Leader in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He was a skilled Tamil orator. Many of MGR's supporters joined AIADMK after defecting from the DMK when he founded it. Muthiah was selected by the AIADMK to run from the Sedapatti constituency, which is located in his hometown and where, in 1977, he earned strong support as a student leader. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly. He also won Sedapatti's subsequent elections. In 1991, he was appointed Speaker of the Assembly.

Owing to his consistent success in winning elections, he rose to prominence. For the Ninth Lok Sabha and the Twelfth Lok Sabha, he was twice elected as a member of parliament from the Periyakulam Constituency. He worked in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in the Twelfth Lok Sabha as the Union Minister for Surface Transport.
He took a break from politics for a while before joining the DMK in 2008 and rising to the position of office holder in the party's electoral wing. (ANI)