Oommen Chandy, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, died on Tuesday in Bengaluru. The Kerala government has proclaimed today a public holiday in honor of the state’s two-time Chief Minister.
All government offices, professional colleges, and educational institutions will be closed on Tuesday. Kerala will be in mourning for two days.
All examinations scheduled on the 18th of July have also been canceled by Mahatma Gandhi University.
Oommen Chandy, the senior Congress leader’s son, announced his father’s death in a Facebook post. He just stated, “Appa has passed away.”
Kerala’s current Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, offered his condolences on Chandy’s death. “We were both elected to the Legislative Assembly in the same year,” he explained. We transitioned together from college life to the political arena. It’s really difficult to say goodbye to him. Oommen Chandy was a talented administrator who cared greatly about people’s lives.”
Aside from Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer, opposition leader V.D. Satheesan, Union Minister V. Muraleedharan, and leaders of other political parties extended their condolences on Chandy’s death.
According to the Congress, Chandy died at 4:25 a.m. while cancer treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru.
Chandy’s health has been a source of concern for some time, and he was receiving treatment in Bengaluru. He was Chief Minister twice, once from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016.
Chandy served as Minister of Labor, Home, and Finance in various governments led by Karunakaran and A.K. Antony. He was also a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly as an opposition leader.
Chandy was the longest-serving MLA in the Assembly, representing the Puthuppally electorate for more than half a century.