Kerala ex-CM Oommen Chandy dies at 79

Thiruvananthapuram/Bengaluru, July 18: Thousands of people paid homage to Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who passed away in Bengaluru in the early hours of Tuesday.
The death of the former Kerala Chief Minister was announced by his son, Chandy Oommen, in a Facebook post which said, “Appa has passed away.” The 79-year old leader, who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 AM. His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said. He is survived by his wife Mariamma Oommen and three children.
Thousands of people assembled at his residence, ‘Puthuppally House’, and Darbar Hall in the state secretariat here to pay homage to Chandy, who represented the Puthuppally Assembly constituency for the past 53 years, when his mortal remains were kept there for the people to pay their last respects.
A crowd puller of the Congress in Kerala, Chandy’s mortal remains were brought to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru in a special aircraft in the afternoon.
Police had a tough time managing the crowd even inside the Darbar Hall, where the political leadership of the state, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues, leaders of various political parties, and the general public, lined up to pay their last respects to the departed leader. (PTI)