Former president of the Travancore Devaswom Board and senior Congress leader Prayar Gopalakrishnan passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, at the age of 73, on Saturday, June 4. The former legislator was traveling to Thiruvananthapuram from Oachira in Kollam district, when he suffered a heart attack. Gopalakrishnan was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 2001. He also served as the chairman of MILMA.
While several Congress and opposition leaders — including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — have condoled Prayar’s death, he was known to have courted controversy over the Sabarimala issue. He was strongly against the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala, saying that if their entry was allowed, Sabarimala would “turn into Thailand”. Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the temple, he had said, “I won’t tell any sister to not enter Sabarimala. Whoever wants to come are welcome. But if you come, you may get attacked by a tiger or man,” alluding that the women devotees cannot complain if they are harassed or abused by men during the pilgrimage.
After Prayar Gopalakrishnan’s death on Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolences. “He has led the Travancore Devaswom Board and MILMA. He had worked for a long time in the cooperative field. Deeply pained at his death and express my condolences,” he said.
Haripad MLA and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Ramesh Chennithala also expressed his condolences. “At the glorious time of Kerala Students Union (KSU) and Youth congress in Kerala politics, Prayar was there in the forefront of both organizations. The best time of the Travancore Devaswom Board was when he headed it. We had a close relationship,” Chennithala wrote on his Facebook.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said that Prayar’s death will be a huge loss to the Congress. “He never compromised in pure politics and truthfulness. He played a vital role in the growth of MILMA, Kerala’s biggest cooperative company. The name MILMA was his contribution. His stand during his tenure as Travancore devaswom board president was also notable…,” VD Satheesan wrote on Facebook.
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