Tamil Nadu Congress's Dalit face and former legislator D Yasodha, who was elected to the state assembly four times, died here on Sunday, the party said.
The 76-year old leader was undergoing treatment at a hospital early this month for health issues after she fainted at a party meet here.
She died today without responding to treatment, the party said.
Expressing shock and grief, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K S Alagiri hailed her as a dedicated party worker for decades and said her death was an irreparable loss for the party.
Recalling her decades long association with the Congress party in Tamil Nadu, Alagiri, in his condolence message said that Yasodha was “drawn to the principles of K Kamaraj,”. He also added that she complained of health issues while participating in a recent Congress meeting and was rushed to the hospital.
Yasodha was elected to the Assembly in 1980, 1984, 2001 and 2006 from Sriperumbudur (Reserved) constituency near here.
She had served as Congress Legislature Party leader and Deputy leader in the assembly.
A trustee of the TNCC Trust, she had held positions including that of the Tamil Nadu Mahila Congress chief.
Yasodha was known to take up the causes of dalits and other marginalised communities in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
DMK President MK Stalin also mentioned this about the leader in his condolence message.
He said that “even in the state assembly, regardless of whether she was part of the ruling alliance or the opposition, the issues concerning the lives of the downtrodden mattered to her (Yasodha).”
He also added that when M Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister and he was the deputy Chief Minister, Yasodha ‘used to get things done, not as a legislator but as a family member,’ for her Sriperumbudur constituency.