Palanivelrajan was instrumental in Reconstruction of burnt Sabarimala

MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Minister PTR Palanivelrajan who passed away Friday was instrumental in the reconstruction of Sabarimala  temple, which was gutted in a fire about a century.

He suffered a massive heart attack while traveling in a train and died at a private hospital at Dindigu 74-year-old Palanivelrajan, who was elected from the Madurai Central Constituency, was also the speaker of state Assembly between 1996 and 2001.

Though Palanivelrajan belonged to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), he was an ardent devotee of Goddess Sri Meenakshi, the presiding deity of the temple city.

As HR & CE Minister, he had ambitious plans to develop all the temples in the State, especially, those in need even for ‘oru-kala-pooja.’ A silent philanthropist, he used to donate huge funds to social welfare organisations.

He is survived by his wife Rukmani and a son, who is working in United States.

The DMK minister, a good speaker in both English and Tamil, was the leader of the now defunct Justice Party.