CHENNAI: Cho Ramaswamy, the editor of the satire magazine Thuglak breathed his last at 4 am on Wednesday. The 82-year-old was a lawyer, actor, journalist, political commentator and an adviser to several politicians.
The fearless commentator, born on October 5, 1934, and named as Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy had shared confidences with the likes of the late Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and incumbent Narendra Modi.
His fierce opposition to Emergency of the 1970s made the man with forthright political views a very prominent figure.
He had been suffering from acute breathing problem for a very long time and admitted to hospitals several times. He was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital on December 3 after he complained of chest pain after having been admitted with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, a chronic lung disease.
“He was on ventilator since Tuesday evening and he suffered a cardiac arrest in the small hours of Wednesday. But he could not be revived and he passed away at 4 am,” sources said.
Cho — a friend, philosopher and guide to the late J. Jayalalithaa — was at the ICU of the same hospital where she died. Just two days later, he breathed his last at the same ICU barely 50 metres away from where Jayalalithaa had breathed last. He watched Jayalalithaa’s funeral procession from his hospital bed few hours before his death added a poignant touch to their long-lasting friendship.
