Six days after the demise of Oommen Chandy, veteran Congress leader and two-time former chief minister of Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, July 24, paid tribute to his predecessor in office. He was speaking at the memorial meeting organised by the state Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee at the Ayyankali Hall in Thiruvananthapuram. Prominent leaders of the Congress and other political parties, religious heads, and people from all walks of life were in attendance.
Pinarayi, who succeeded Chandy as Chief Minister in 2016, recalled their association in his speech. Way back in 1970, the Kerala Assembly saw a good number of new faces, which included Chandy and him, Pinarayi said.
"Even though I was in the Assembly on and off, Chandy’s record of representing Puthuppally from 1970 for 53 years is an all time record. He rose to leadership roles in the Congress in Kerala from a student leader and held practically all positions. He did justice to the posts he held," Pinarayi said. "He was undoubtedly the tallest leader and hence the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) will take a while to fill the void of Chandy," he said.
"A while after he contracted his ailment, we happened to meet at a public function and we spoke briefly. Later, I called up the doctor, who told me, 'I am not sure if he (Chandy) will follow all that has been told to him, as he just cannot take rest, he is always at work'," he added.
State Congress President K Sudhakaran said the farewell that Chandy got when his hearse moved from Thiruvananthapuram to his hometown Puthuppally, which is 158 km away, demonstrated how people viewed and treated him. "A normal journey by road takes around 3.5 hours but his final journey took 38 hours, showing what Chandy was to the people of Kerala. He proved to be the most humane politician. His services were repaid by the people who came to bid goodbye, a never ever before seen event in Kerala. He has now become a legend in Kerala and will always be in the memory of people," he said.