Veteran Congress leader and former Puducherry chief minister P Shanmugam dies in Karaikal on Saturday after a fall at his house, party officials said. He was 85.   Shanmugam fell down the stairs and sustained head injuries. He was taken to the hospital where he died.

A bachelor, Shanmugam was the chief minister of Puducherry from March 22, 2000 to October 27, 2001 and represented the union territory in the Lok Sabha between 1980-1991.

Condoling the death of Shanmugam, Union shipping minister and Congress leader GKVasan expressed his grief.

Vasan, in a statement, said Shanmugam dedicted his life for the welfare of Puducherry's people and was a close associate of late Congress leaders like K Kamaraj and GK Moopanar.