Former Deputy Speaker and senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader C.A. Kurian, 88, died in Munnar on Saturday.
Mr. Kurian, who was undergoing treatment at Munnar Tata Tea General Hospital for age-related ailments, died in the morning. He served as Deputy Speaker from 1996 to 2001.
Mr. Kurian represented the Peerumade Assembly constituency in 1977, 1980, and 1996.
Mr. Kurian was State secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, general secretary of the Indian Plantation Workers Federation, and CPI State executive member.
Mr. Kurian was born at Puthuppally in Kottayam in 1933. He started his career as a bank employee and resigned the job in 1960. He came to Idukki to work for the welfare of tea plantation workers.
Key role in Idukki
Mourning his death, CPI leaders said Mr. Kurian had played a key role in making the party and its union prominent in Idukki, especially in plantation areas.
Condoling the death of the veteran leader, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Mr. Kurian fought for the rights of the plantation workers in the State.
(Input from Press Trust of India)
