THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammed Khan condoled the demise of Gandhian P Gopinathan Nair on Tuesday. In his tweet he said:”Heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of Gandhian Sri P Gopinathan Nair, who had taken part in #QuitIndia movement. He inspired people with social & spiritual leadership in peace and nonviolent action.
As an authority on all aspects of Gandhi and Vinoba thought, Padma Shri Gopinathan Nair advised people to serve society on the Gandhian path. May his soul attain Mukti.”Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his condolence message, said he was a valuable link connecting the era of national freedom struggle with the present era. He was a person who exemplified Gandhian values in personal and public life. He was a man of purity and a transparent personality. Kerala has lost one of the exemplary personalities who gave eternal inspiration to Gandhian movements, he said.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan said Nair was prominent among those who served the Gandhi Samraka Nidhi since its inception. He was the president of Mahatma Gandhi’s Sevagram Ashram for 11 years. He was also involved in the Bhoodan movement of Acharya Vinobaji. Gopinathan Nair was also sent as a peace envoy by A K Antony during the Marad riots. He was also in the forefront as a messenger of peace in the Sikh-Hind conflict at the national level. The death of a perfect Gandhian like P Gopinathan Nair will leave a void in our political, social and cultural arena, Satheesan said.
Speaker M B Rajesh and KPCC president K Sudhakaran said that Nair had adopted Gandhian values in his public and personal life. BJP state president K Surendran said the death of Gopinathan Nair is a huge loss to the country. CPI central control commission chairman Pannian Raveendran said Nair was the epitome of Gandhian values and represented values in politics. Pannian recalled that he, along with Nair, had intervened in many social issues.