CHENNAI: Veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader R Sampanthan was a great personality who always voiced for the rights of the Lankan Tamils and also earned the respect of others, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday.

Paying rich tributes to the Tamil National Alliance leader who passed away in Colombo on June 30 at 91 years, the chief minister said Sampanthan always thought and worked for the welfare of the Tamil people till his last breath.

"He was a great political personality who voiced for the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils all through his life. .. no one can easily replace Sampanthan in Sri Lankan politics. His death is a loss not only for the Sri Lankan Tamil people but also for the Tamils living around the world," Stalin said in a release here.

The contribution of this veteran political leader as a parliamentarian for half a century had a profound impact on Sri Lankan politics. "For a long time, Sampanthan had been fighting for the devolution of powers to the Lankan Tamil people," Stalin said and offered his deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved on behalf of Tamil Nadu.