The body of Congress Kanyakumari Member of Parliament Vasanthakumar, who died due to coronavirus infection at a private hospital in Chennai on Friday evening, is being taken to his native Agastheeswaram village in Kanyakumari district. The body is expected to reach Agastheeswaram by 9 pm and the last rites are set to be conducted on Sunday morning.
The body was kept at their home in T Nagar for the public to pay homage on Saturday morning. Following this, the body is being taken to Agastheeswaram by road.
Speaking to the media, Vasanthakumar's son Vijay Vasanth said, “The demise of my father is not a loss for just his family members but it is a great loss for the business community and Congress party members. We have arranged for the final rites at our native place. We will do the rites in the presence of our family members, close friends and village residents.”
Congress party members had initially decided to keep the body at Sathyamurthy Bhavan so that party workers could pay homage. However, the decision was changed and the MP's mortal remains were directly taken to the home town.
"To avoid delay in reaching our village, we decided to re-schedule our travel plans. As per the earlier plan, we thought of starting by 2 pm but since we need to travel by road, it would become late. So I spoke to Congress leaders who agreed that father should be directly taken to his native place," Vijay Vasanth said.
“Due to the prevailing pandemic situation many leaders will not be able to attend the late rites but they have conveyed their condolences through phone calls,” he added.
The Member of Parliament and the owner of Vasanth & Co H Vasanthakumar breathed his last on Friday evening, due to complications that arose from coronavirus infection, at a private hospital in Chennai. The leader was admitted to the Apollo Hospital on August 10 aftr he tested positive for coronavirus infection. As his health condition failed to improve, the leader was given ventilator and ECMO support. However, his health continued to deteriorate and he breathed his last on Friday evening.