THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran Congress leader and former Governor Vakkom Purushothaman passed away. He was 96.
Purushothaman passed away at his residence in Kumarapuram in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. A three-time minister and former Assembly Speaker, Vakkom was one of the tallest Congress leaders in the state.
He was the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman Nicobar Islands from 1993 to 1996 and later served as the governor of Maharashtra, Mizoram and Tripura. He represented Attingal in the state assembly five times and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Alappuzha.
Vakkom, who served as speaker in 1982 and 2001, has set the record as the long-term serving speaker of the house. He was also elected as a pro-time speaker in the Loksabha.
A no-nonsense leader, he was minister thrice and he dabbled in agriculture, labour, health, finance, tourism and excise portfolios. He was minister of Agriculture and labour in the 1971-77 C Achutha Menon cabinet and was part of the 1980 January - 1981 October EK Nayanar cabinet, as minister holding portfolios of Health and Tourism. In the 2004 AK Antony Ministry, he was the finance minister.
When Oommen Chandy became the chief minister after AK Antony resigned, he continued to remain as finance minister. When Oommen Chandy was away for treatment following a fractured leg, Vakkom held the charge of the chief minister.
Born to Bhanu Panicker and Bhavani on April 12, 1928, at Vakkom in Thiruvananthapuram, he entered politics through the Students Congress in 1946. In 1953, he became a member of the Vakkom Grama panchayat. In Congress, Vakkom held the charge of KPCC vice president, and KPCC general secretary. He was a member of the All India Congress Committee for 25 years.
He is survived by his wife Lilly Purushothaman, son Binu Purushothaman and daughter Dr Bindu Purushothaman. His elder son, Biju Purushothaman predeceased him in 2012.
In the early years of active politics, he was a staunch member of the I group under the leadership of K Karunakaran. However, later his allegiance changed to the A group. In his second innings into state politics, after he returned from the charge of lieutenant governor, Vakkom took a position against group politics.