Rahul Gandhi visits AK Antony; pays respects to families of late Congress veterans

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid a courtesy visit to Congress veteran and former Defence Minister AK Antony at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, reported PTI. He is currently in Kerala to attend a memorial event in Puthuppally, Kottayam, marking the second death anniversary of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Antony has been active in Kerala politics since 1970 and served three terms as Chief Minister, in 1977, 1995 and 2001. He stepped away from active parliamentary politics in 2022 after completing his Rajya Sabha tenure.

During his visit, Gandhi met the families of two late Congress leaders, CV Padmarajan, who died at the age of 94 on July 16, and Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, who passed away in June. Padmarajan had served as KPCC president and held key cabinet posts under K Karunakaran and AK Antony. Thennala was also a former KPCC chief and a party veteran. In a Facebook post, Gandhi praised Padmarajan’s contributions to Kerala and the Congress and called Thennala a 'stalwart of the party'.