Kottayam, July 20 :Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will attend the funeral of former two-time Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy at Puthupally on Thursday.In a message, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal said, “Rahul Gandhi will attend the funeral of Oommen Chandy. With deep grief, we will respectfully bid farewell to our beloved leader.”Though the funeral procession began from Puthipally House in Thiruvananthapuram at 7.30 am on Wednesday, it took a full-day and night to reach Kottayam Thirunakkara Maidan on Thursday as thousands of people gathered on the road sides to pay their last respects to the departed leader.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to attend the funeral at St. George Orthodox Church at 3.30 pm at Puthupally in this district.Though the funeral is scheduled at 3.30 pm, it is likely to be delayed due to the huge public gathering. Before the final rites, the body will also be brought to his residence at Puthipally this evening.Several Bishops and church leaders will attend the funeral. The Chief Priest of the Orthodox Church, Baselios Marthoma Mathews IIl will lead the final rites.Meanwhile, the family of Oommen Chandy had written to Chief Secretary Dr V Venu, expressing his desire to be buried without state honours. Though Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting decided to make all arrangements for the funeral with state honours, it was decided to accept the family request.Instead of his family vault at the cemetery, the body of the former chief minister will be buried in an exclusive priests’ burial area inside the church premises.The funeral procession, on a KSRTC low-floor bus, was accompanied by supporters, party workers and leaders including senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, Opposition leader VD Satheesan and the family members of the departed leader.The body will be kept at the Thirunakkara Maidan and the KPCC office in Kottayam before taking it to his ancestral house at Puthuppally.In the wake of the funeral procession, traffic regulations were imposed in Kottayam and Puthupally. The administration declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Kottayam on Thursday.The former Chief Minister died at a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 am on Tuesday following prolonged illness. Later, his body was airlifted to Kerala Capital on Tuesday afternoon.Later, the body was brought to his residence, “Puthupally House,” at Jagathy in Thiruvananthapuram. After that, it was brought to Secretariat Durbar Hall for paying tributes by public. Then, it was taken to St George Orthodox Cathedral in the City for paying tribute by believers.On Tuesday afternoon, a large number of people thronged to his house, Durbar Hall and the KPCC office for paying last respects to their departed leader.After that, it was brought to Indira Bhavan, the head office of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in the State, for paying tributes by the party workers and public.The former Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who completed 53 years as a MLA, was the most popular face of Congress in Kerala, representing his home town Puthupally in Kottayam district since 1970.He also served as Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and All India Congress Committee (AICC) Incharge of Andhra Pradesh.Chandy was the unit president of KSU (Kerala Students Union) at St George High School, Puthupally, and the State President of the organisation during 1967-69. He was elected president of the State Youth Congress in 1970.Chandy completed his pre university course from CMS College, Kottayam, and BA Economics from St Berchmans College, Changanassery. He took a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) from Government Law College, Ernakulam.He was the Minister for Labour from April 11, 1977 to April 25, 1977 in the first K. Karunakaran Ministry and continued holding the same portfolio in the succeeding first AK Antony Ministry till October 27, 1978. He was in the charge of Home portfolio in the second K Karunakaran Ministry from December 28, 1981 to March 17, 1982. Again, he was sworn in as a minister in the fourth K Karunakaran Ministry on July 2, 1991. He was in charge of Finance Portfolio and resigned from the cabinet on June 22, 1994 due to difference with the Chief Minister.In 2004, following the resignation of AK Antony as Chief Minister due to the Congress party’s poor performance in Lok Sabha elections and factional politics, Chandy became his successor for a short duration (August 2004 to May 2006).Chandy was the Opposition leader in the 12th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Under his leadership, UDF marked victories in the Lok Sabha Election 2009, gaining 16 out of 20 parliament constituencies in Kerala, and the Local Body Election in 2010. In the history of Kerala politics, this is the first time that the UDF got an upper hand in local body elections.Chandy secured a slender margin in the 2011 assembly election and became the Chief Minister for the second time. Congress-led UDF candidates won 72 seats against 68 for the LDF (Left Democratic Front).Earlier, the Kerala Government declared a holiday on Tuesday. A three-day state of mourning is also being observed as a mark of respect to the former Chief Minister.There were reports that the Government is yet to take a decision on providing a gun salute to the departed leader, as he earlier expressed his desire not to be given official honours at the funeral.(UNI)