Kerala's veteran CPM leader and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan was laid to rest with state honours at Valiyachudukad burial ground in Alappuzha, accompanied by thunderous gun salute and heavy downpour on Wednesday. The mortal remains were brought for cremation at 8.45 pm. A ceremonial guard of honour was provided by the Kerala police, following which leaders of the District Secretariat took the body to the pyre. The final rites were performed by his son Arun Kumar in the presence of other family members.

On a rain-soaked evening, comrades and party sympathisers, drenched and emotional, raised slogans and lined up on the road in front of the burial ground. Tributes continued to pour in at the burial ground even after long queues had formed outside VS's house in Punnapra, at the Alappuzha District Committee office, and later at the recreation ground where the body was kept for public viewing. The comrades, holding umbrellas and wearing rain coats, stood in front of the burial gate as red volunteers kept them in check. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, cabinet ministers, party leaders, CPI leaders attended the funeral.

A condolence meeting followed the cremation, with tributes from several leaders including CPM General Secretary M A Baby, State Secretary M V Govindan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam, and RSP leader and Kollam MLA N K Premachandran.

“VS dedicated his life to fighting communal forces and stood unwaveringly for the working class. After Kerala was formed, CPM played a pivotal role in shaping the state--and VS was at the forefront. His tenure as Opposition Leader and later as Chief Minister was marked by strong stances and historic interventions. He stood firm in times of crisis and helped lead the party forward. He was one of the finest administrators the Communist Party has seen,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

“He was an exemplary leader — both inside and outside the Kerala Assembly. The fact that tens of thousands came to pay their respects, cutting across age and political lines, speaks volumes of his stature. His loss is a loss for all of Kerala — as irreplaceable as the passing of AKG, EMS, or E K Nayanar,” M V Govindan added. “As leaders said then, their shoes can only be filled through collective effort. No single person can replace them.”

Meanwhile, M A Baby reflected on his long association with the veteran leader.“I first met VS in 1985 during a state committee meeting when he was the party secretary. P Krishna Pillai discovered VS as a young worker at the Aspinwall coir factory and mentored him in organising Kuttanad’s farmers to fight for their rights. He lifted them from exploitation and helped form the foundation of the Communist Party. EMS stepped out of privilege; VS rose from the lowest rungs of society to uplift people like himself,” he said.

CPI’s Binoy Viswam spoke movingly of the symbolism of Valiyachudukad, VS’ final resting place: “This is the final resting place of Punnapra-Vayalar martyrs and leaders like P Krishna Pillai, R Sugathan, T V Thomas, and Gowri Amma. Today, this sacred soil receives another revolutionary. When we walk into these grounds, we must do so with reverence. This land teaches us the values of revolution and political integrity-- values VS carried in his heart.”

“He embraced Marxism from the grassroots and spent his life fighting for the oppressed. I had the honour of serving as a minister when he was Chief Minister. Even when we disagreed, he never compromised on core communist values.”