New Delhi: In a sudden turn of events, Congress MP H Vasanthakumar from Kanyakumari, who had recently tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, lost the battle to the deadly disease at a private hospital in Chennai on Friday.

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The 70-year-old leader was the working president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, who had undergone treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia on August 10 at the Greams Road facility of the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. As per the reports, Vasanthakumar's health conditions worsened over the past few days due to COVID-19 complications and the leader unfortunately breathed his last on Friday at the Chennai private hospital.

A renowned businessman and the founder of famous retail chain Vasanth & Co, Vasanthakumar is survived by wife, daughter and two sons.

Mourning the untimely demise of the the leader, Congress in a tweet said: "We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of H Vasanthakumar. A staunch Congressman, true leader of the people and beloved MP. He will be sorely missed by all members of the Congress party and his followers. Our Prayers are with his family in this time of grief. "



Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief upon the death of Chennai leader. Taking to his official Twitter account on Friday evening, Prime Minister said, "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."



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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President KS Alagiri also expressed condolences upon the death of two-time MLA who was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 elections.