Former Kerala Assembly Speaker passes away

Thiruvananthapuram

John (74) passed away due to old age related ailments, family sources said.

His wife had predeceased him and he is survived by a son, they said.

John, who was a leader of a faction of the Kerala Congress (Secular), had also served as a minister in the A K Antony cabinet.

An active member of students movements while at SB College, Changanachery, he subsequently became a Member of Kaviyoor Panchayat.

A lawyer by profession, John, one of the founder members of Kerala Congress, was elected to the assembly from Kalooppara constituency four times. He became a Member of the Assembly for the first time as a Kerala Congress Member.

John, who was Speaker of the fourth Kerala Assembly for a short period from February 17, 1976 to March 25, 1977, had also served as the Minister for Food & Civil Supplies from October 19, 1978 to October 27, 1978 in the Antony Ministry.

In the reconstituted Ministry that followed under the leadership of P K Vasudevan Nair, he continued to be the Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, from October 29, 1978 to October 7 1979.