Thousands of people turned up at EMS Stadium here on Monday to pay homage to former Transport Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Thomas Chandy. The body of Chandy who died last Friday at his house in Ernakulam was brought here around 4.30 p.m. Among those who paid tributes were Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Food and Civil Supplies Minister P. Thilothaman, Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel, Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma, Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran, A.M. Ariff, MP, and MLAs Shanimol Usman, Mani C. Kappan and A.N. Shamseer.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Cultural Affairs Minister A.K. Balan, and Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, paid their last respects to the former minister at his home in Kuttanad. The funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Mar Thoma Church, Chennamkary, in Kuttanad on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.
Chandy, 72, a prominent businessman, represented Kuttanad seat in the Kerala Assembly thrice. He had been battling cancer for sometime. He is survived by his wife Mercy, two daughters and a son.
Transport portfolio
Chandy held the Transport portfolio in the current Left Democratic Front government (LDF) for a few months in 2017 before being forced to resign following allegations of land grab and lake reclamation for a resort promoted by a company in which he was a director.
