A day after the demise of J Jayalalithaa, Cho Ramaswamy, veteran political commentator and a long-time associate of the late Tamil Nadu chief minister, passed away early on Wednesday.
Condolences have poured in from politicians and journalists, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeting out two videos about the late journalist. Modi described himself as a fan of Ramaswamy.
He went on to cite an incident from the Emergency when he first heard of Cho, who, the PM said, was “fighting for democracy” just like he was.
Modi also tweeted a video where Ramaswamy introduced him as the “merchant of death” for terrorism, corruption and nepotism.
The phrase “merchant of death” (“maut ka saudaagar”) was famously used by Sonia Gandhi for Modi in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections of 2007. Ramaswamy, however, gave a more positive spin to the epithet in his introduction and address.
The respected journalist had been close to Jayalalithaa but was also a harsh critic of the late AIADMK boss.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)