Congress MP H Vasantha Kumar, the entrepreneur who made his name with his electronics appliances store Vasanth and Co, Congress MP from Kanyakumari passed away on August 28 due to COVID19. He has been a two-time MLA, and was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from Nanguneri constituency in 2006, and thereafter in 2016. He, however, resigned from his seat after successfully contesting from Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha Election. He defeated the sitting MP and then Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan by a huge margin.
He is also a relative of former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President and veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan, and Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan.
He was admitted to the hospital on August 10, after developing symptoms of COVID-19 and was put on both the ECMO and a ventilator. He passed away on Friday evening.
Tributes have been coming from across party lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress High Command Rahul Gandhi too expressed their condolences moments after news came out.
Saddened by the demise of Lok Sabha MP Shri H. Vasanthakumar Ji. His strides in business and social service efforts were noteworthy. During my interactions with him, I always saw his passion towards Tamil Nadu’s progress. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/SmuAK8ufAx
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2020
The news of Kanyakumari MP, Shri H Vasanthakumar’s untimely demise due to Covid-19 has come as a shock.
His commitment to the congress ideology of serving the people will remain in our hearts forever.
Heartfelt condolences to his friends and family members. pic.twitter.com/oqhrfQXEUD
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2020