Condolences poured in for former CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan who died here on Wednesday. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy called Bhargavan a ‘karmayogi’ of Kerala politics.
“Though the two-time MLA had many opportunities to enter power-politics, he chose to stay away from it and dedicated his life for the welfare of the working class,” Chandy said. Speaker G Karthikeyan, Finance Minister K M Mani, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammad, Industry Minister P K Kunhalikutty, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob have condoled the death of the communist leader.
Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan said Velyam’s demise was a big loss to the Communist movement. KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala remembered Bhargavan as a leader who made selfless contribution to the communist movement. “Bhargavan served as CPI state secretary for 14 years. During this period and after, he took many cautious yet firm steps to strengthen the LDF,” said CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in his condolence message.
CPI leaders D Raja and A B Bardhan condoled the death, calling his demise a loss not only to the state but also to the communist movement. CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran and the party’s parliamentary party leader C Divakaran remembered Bhargavan as a leader who had many admirers cutting across party lines. LDF constituents RSP and NCP also condoled the demise. Condolence messages also poured in from socio-cultural organisations such as Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham and Prof Joseph Mundassery Foundation. KC(B) chairman R Balakrishna Pillai condoled the death of Veliyam.