Congress, UDF will take a while to fill the void of Oommen Chandy: Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram, July 24 (IANS) Six days after the demise of one of the tallest Kerala politicians Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday paid glowing tributes to the veteran Congress leader and his predecessor in office.

He was speaking at the memorial meeting organised by the state Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee here, with who’s who of Kerala and people from all walks of life in attendance.

Vijayan, who succeeded Chandy as Chief Minister in 2016 and recalling their association, said that way back in 1970, the Kerala Assembly saw a good number of new faces and it included Chandy and him.

"Even though I was in the Assembly on and off, Chandy’s record of representing Puthupally from 1970 for 53 years is an all time record. He rose to the pinnacle in the Congress in Kerala from a student leader and held practically all positions and he has done justice to the posts he held," he said.

"He was undoubtedly the tallest leader and hence the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) will take a while to fill the void of Chandy," Vijayan said.

"After a while he contracted his ailment, we happened to meet at a public function and we spoke for a brief while and when I asked him, he said everything is due to the doctor who treated him. Later, I called up the doctor and he told me, 'I am not sure if he (Chandy) will be following all what has been told to him, as he just cannot take rest, as he is always in his work'," he added.

State Congress President K. Sudhakaran said the send off that Chandy got when his hearse moved from here to his home town Puthupally which is 158 km away demonstrates how people viewed and treated him.

"A normal journey by road takes around 3.5 hours but his final journey took 38 hours showing what Chandy was to the people of Kerala. He proved to be the most humane politician and that was repaid back by the people who came to bid good bye, a never ever before seen event in Kerala. He has now become a legend in Kerala and will always be in the memory of people," he said.

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