Mortal remains of Oommen Chandy taken to Kottayam from Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thousands of people on Wednesday morning came out to accompany the mortal remains of former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy being taken to his native place in Kottayam City from Thiruvananthapuram.

Chandy's mortal remains were brought to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru on a special flight on Tuesday afternoon. They were kept at various places including Durbar Hall of the state secretariat, St George Orthodox Syrian Cathedral, the KPCC headquarters and his residence in the state capital for the public to pay their last respects.

Supporters of the late CM gathered Wednesday morning at the party office in Thiruvananthapuram to pay their tribute.

The Kerala government on Tuesday announced a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the former CM. The former chief minister passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Political leaders cutting across party lines including State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, President Droupadu Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi condoled the demise of the former CM and remembered his contribution to public service.

Earlier recalling Chandy’s journey as a politician CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Oommen Chandy entered politics through student movement and continued to possess the same strength and energy that he had when he was a student leader and carried out his functions in the same manner till the end of his life.”

"In the passing away of Shri Oommen Chandy Ji, we have lost a humble and dedicated leader who devoted his life to public service and worked towards the progress of Kerala. I recall my various interactions with him, particularly when we both served as Chief Ministers of our respective states and later when I moved to Delhi," PM Modi said in a tweet on Tuesday.