Kerala Assembly Session Begins; Tributes Paid To Oommen Chandy And Vakkom Purushothaman

After paying tributes to the two veteran leaders, the House concluded for the day and will resume on Tuesday. The session will conclude on August 23.

The ninth session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly began on Monday with Speaker A N Shamseer, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and various other legislators paying tributes to former CM Oommen Chandy and Congress veteran Vakkom Purushothaman, both of whom died last month. During the session, CM Vijayan, Shamseer, and other legislators including the Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan recalled the contributions by Chandy and Purushothaman in the political sphere of Kerala and said that their demise concludes an important chapter of the state’s politics. After paying tributes to the two veteran leaders, the House concluded for the day and will resume on Tuesday. The session will conclude on August 23.

For the first time in five decades, Chandy will not be present in the House. He has represented the Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kottayam district for 53 years straight as he won from there 12 times in a row starting from 1970. Chandy passed away on July 18 in Bengaluru.

Chandy, who was the chief minister of the state twice, was only able to achieve the feat through his hardwork and perseverance. Everyone in the house recalled how he did not give up even when he was sick. Chandy's sincerity towards public work was an example for the new generation as well, they all said.

The House also paid tribute to Purushothaman, who passed away on July 31, held the record of being the Speaker of Kerala Assembly and was also the Governor of Mizoram and Tripura and Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was a minister three times and handled many important portfolios like finance, health, excise, labour, agriculture and tourism effectively.

The House remembered that Purushothaman played the leadership role at most levels of the democratic process since he was part of the legislative bodies from panchayat to the Parliament during his seven decades long career. Shamseer, Vijayan and Satheesan said that Purushothaman was an excellent reference for all public servants, especially the newer generation.

During its 10-day long sitting, the House would consider various bills, including the one to substitute the ordinance issued by the government for the safety and security of those working in the healthcare sector.