Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and other senior leaders paid floral tribute to tribal activist Stan Swamy on Sunday. Stalin, DMK MP Kanimozhi, former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, State Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi, State Minorities Commission Chairperson Peter Alphonse, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Sinthanai Selvan, were attending the mourning for the Jesuit priest at Loyola College, Chennai.
Stan Swamy died on 5th July at a hospital in Mumbai after prolonged judicial custody at Taloja jail for alleged links to Bhima Koregaon violence. Swamy hailed from Tamil Nadu. A human rights activist, he worked for the tribal community in Jharkhand. He often raised questioned the lack of implementation of several aspects of the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. He also urged the Union government to form a Tribal Advisory Council for the safety, welfare, and development of tribals, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement.
The tragedy that has befallen Stan Swamy, who fought for the downtrodden and the deprived, should not happen to anyone, Stalin said.