Speaker honours veteran Parliamentarian Kaliannan

Veteran parliamentarian T M Kaliannan, who was a member of the Constituent Assembly, was honoured by Speaker P Dhanapal as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the State Assembly.

The Speaker called on Kaliannan at his house in Thiruchengode on Wednesday morning and honoured him on behalf of the Chief Minister by presenting him a memento and a souvenir released during the special session of the House that was held as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Lauding the contributions made by the veteran parliamentarian, the Speaker said he was sent by the CM to personally honour Kaliannan since he could not attend the special session of the House held in Chennai on November 30.

“I am pleased to be honoured on behalf of the CM and I expected this as I could not attend the diamond jubilee session,” Kaliannan told journalists here.

The Speaker was accompanied by District Revenue Officer G Senguttuvan and Thiruchengode RDO S Kavitha.

Born in Akkaraipatti village in Thiruchengode, Kaliannan was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Madras Assembly at the age of 28, when Dr P Subbarayan took over as the Ambassador to Indonesia.

Subsequently, he became a member of the first Provisional Parliament.

The nonagenarian leader represented the Rasipuram segment during 1952-57 and Thiruchengode twice, in 1957-62 and 1962-67, in the State Assembly, besides serving as a Member of the Legislative Council during 1967-72. Kaliannan’s grandson Dr P V Senthil, also the vice president of the district wing of the Youth Congress, was also present on the occasion.