Last rites of veteran Communist VS Achuthanandan on Wednesday
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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with senior leaders, paid their final respects to veteran CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan at the Durbar Hall in the State Secretariat on Tuesday, 22 July.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala is preparing to accord a befitting farewell to V.S. Achuthanandan, one of India’s tallest and oldest Communist leaders, who passed away at a private hospital in the state capital on Sunday, July 21. He was 101.
Popularly known as ‘VS’, the former Chief Minister’s mortal remains were taken on Tuesday morning from his son’s residence to the majestic Durbar Hall inside the State Secretariat — the same seat of governance he once led from 2006 to 2011.
The Kerala government has declared a three-day state mourning until July 24 as a mark of respect. During this period, the National Flag will be flown at half-mast across all government buildings. Additionally, Tuesday has been declared a public holiday, with all government offices, educational institutions, autonomous bodies, statutory institutions, public sector undertakings, and establishments covered under the Negotiable Instruments Act remaining closed.
Achuthanandan’s final rites will be held on Wednesday in his hometown of Alappuzha, where a public holiday has also been declared in the district.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the first to lay a wreath on the coffin of his long-time comrade, with whom he shared a complicated but historic political relationship. Several senior CPI(M) leaders, including General Secretary M.A. Baby — who had served as Education Minister in VS’s cabinet — former General Secretary Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, and a host of party functionaries, were present to pay their last respects.
Outside the Durbar Hall, long queues of people from all walks of life, regardless of age, had gathered from early morning to bid farewell. Many tearfully remarked that there would never be another leader like VS — a towering figure whose loss is felt deeply across the state.
Speaking to the media, Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian — who hails from Alappuzha — said he had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram late on Monday night after finalising arrangements for the farewell ceremonies in the late leader’s home district.
“Initially, we planned to hold the public viewing at the Town Hall, but anticipating a much larger crowd, we decided to erect a pandal on the seashore,” Cherian said.
According to the revised schedule, the funeral procession will begin around 2 p.m. Tuesday from the capital, and is expected to reach Alappuzha by 7 p.m. The body will lie in state at the CPI(M) district office and then at Achuthanandan’s residence. On Wednesday, it will be taken to the seashore for a public homage before proceeding to the cremation ground at Valiyachudukad. The funeral pyre is expected to be lit around 4 p.m.
Achuthanandan was the last surviving member among the founding leaders of the CPI(M), which was formed in 1964 after a historic split from the Communist Party of India. He, along with a group of comrades, had broken away to establish a new ideological path — a turning point in India’s Left movement.
He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
With IANS inputs
