Kerala bids farewell to iconic leader: Oommen Chandy laid to rest

Kottayam: A chapter in Kerala politics, an unusual one at that, came to an end as Oommen Chandy was laid to rest here on Thursday. The burial took place at St George Orthodox Church at Puthuppally, the epicentre of Chandy’s political career spanning over half a century, at the culmination of a funeral procession which proved what the Congress stalwart was in Kerala politics. Chandy was a two-time Kerala chief minister, Puthuppally’s MLA for 52 years, and an AICC general secretary. In his rather long political career, he had mastered the art of mixing pragmatism with philanthropy.

Tens of thousands of people, cutting across the political spectrum, paid their last respects to Chandy in the past three days since his death at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday following a long battle with cancer. His body was shifted from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city which had become his second home ever since his maiden election to the Kerala assembly in 1970. His funeral procession took nearly 30 hours to reach Kottayam town from Thiruvananthapuram. It is said that he used to cover the 150-km distance in a little over three hours during his frequent trips. The large crowds gathered along the itinerary of the hearse were proof of how he had touched the personal lives and the collective psyche of the people of the state. There was an element of poetic justice in the unusual turnout of people to see him for the last time as he had to face a series of allegations, later turned out to be unfounded, at the peak of his career when he was the chief minister for a second term (2011-16).

Chandy’s funeral was also unusual for two reasons: The Orthodox Church built a special tomb where priests are buried for Chandy. State honours were done away with as the former CM had conveyed to his family that he did not want it.

The funeral rites were scheduled to take place at the church at 2 pm, however, the services could be started only around 9 pm. They lasted till midnight.

 

The funeral rites were performed by Baselios Marthoma Mathews III,  the present Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Earlier in the day, the body was kept for public viewing at the Thirunakkara Maidanam, Chandy’s ancestral home Karottu Vallakkalil at Puthuppally and his unfinished house nearby. In all these places, people turned out in large numbers, often making crowd management a difficult task for Congress leadership and police.

'Karottu Vallakkalil witnessed emotional scenes as the vehicle carrying his body was brought there, as it was the place where their "Kunjoonju", as he was called fondly by the people of the area, used to address the grievances of the people of his constituency and in the neighbouring areas on weekends.

In Congress’ brazen factional war in the state, Chandy was the face of what is known as the A group or AK Antony loyalists. However, in death, he unified the party like never before. Congress leaders across generations, regions and group affiliations found their way to Puthuppally to bid the final adieu to the leader. Chandy’s own seniors in the party Antony and Vayalar Ravi were among the mourners. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, who heads the rival I faction, and All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal ensured that Chandy was given the farewell he deserved. However, Chandy got the biggest posthumous respect from his party as former party president Rahul Gandhi decided to fly down to Puthuppally and attend the funeral. Rahul stayed in the church during the prayers, consoling Chandy’s family just like he did on Tuesday when he, along with Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, paid their respects to Chandy’s mortal remains in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Chandy was subject to harsh criticism and even a physical attack from the rival CPM when he was the CM. The death, however, blurred all political rivalry. A host of Left leaders offered their tributes to Chandy throughout the funeral procession and public viewing. Ministers V N Vasavan, Saji Cherian, K N Balagopal, Roshy Augustine and P Prasad placed the wreath for the state government. Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar also paid homage to Chandy earlier in the day. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and his Goa counterpart P S Sreedharan Pillai and Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer also paid homage to the Congress leader.

In life, Chandy did not have time for cinema or other entertainment. That did not stop him from influencing film stars. Superstars Mammootty, Suresh Gopi and Dileep paid their final respects to Chandy at Thirunakkara in the morning.

In the crowds, there were countless common people who had benefited from Chandy’s helpful nature. Among them were the close family members of Nimisha Priya, a Malayali nurse sentenced to death in Yemen. The family wanted to pay their respects to their “dear leader” for all his earnest attempts to get Nimisha released from jail.

Chandy’s final journey came to a close with his son Chandy Oommen delivering an emotionally charged vote of gratitude to all those who loved his father.