Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had passed away. He served the people 2 times as the Chief Minister. Also, he was elected as the Leader of the Opposition in Kerala. His kindness and willingness to help the poor made him a popular leader who has been called ‘Jana Nayakan’.
No one can forget Oommen Chandy’s rule which has written many new chapters in the Congress party and in Kerala politics. Oomen Chandy has bravely started the Jana Sambarka Parupadi, an example of unity and hope. At the age of 79, he bid a forever farewell to the people of Kerala and to Kerala politics.
PERSONAL LIFE:
Oommen Chandy was born on 31st October 1943 to K.O.Chandy and Baby Chandy in Kumarakom in Kottayam district of Kerala. In 1977, he was engaged to Mariamma Oommen who is now a retired Bank Employee. Oommen Chandy acquired his pre-university degree at CMS College, Kottayam. Moreover, he gained a B.A degree Economics from St. Berchmans College, Changanassery. Furthermore, Chandy completed L.L.B from the Government Law College, Ernakulam.
POLITICS:
Oommen Chandy functioned as the 10th Chief Minister of Kerala from 2004 to 2006 and further from 2011 to 2016. Likewise, he was also performed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly between 2006 and 2011. He is also known for the longest serving MLA in Kerala.
WHY OOMMEN CHANDY IS CALLED AS ‘PEOPLE’S LEADER’?
In 2012, the city of Kozhikode in Kerala witnessed the beginning of a new step. The ‘Public Relations Program’ started under the leadership of Shri Oommen Chandy is an example of great care that Kerala has seen till date. More than 11 lakhs people attended Oommen Chandy’s public relations program and it was the largest Maha Adalat hosted by a Chief Minister in the world. Oommen Chandy is a brave leader who stood alone for 12 to 19 hours for the people who won him without even considering his health. Since 2011, the Oommen Chandy public relations program has been carried out for three consecutive years in three phases for Kerala.
Oommen Chandy read and studied every petition given by the people and made every possible solution for it. Oommen Chandy, who formed a public relations program that stood guard for the people, was awarded the Nation Public Service Award by the United Nations in 2013. 242 crores in financial assistance to the people of Kerala through public relation programs. It remains to be seen whether there will be another Chief Minister in Kerala who has gone down to the people and understood their problems and struggles.
REMARKABLE AWARDS:
Oommen Chandy was honoured the United Nations Public Service Award in 2013 considering for “Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service” in the Asia-Pacific region. He also received an award by UN Under Secretary General Wu Hongbo for his mass contact programme where he was selected among entries from 50 Asia-Pacific countries.
SOCIAL WORKS:
Some of his mentionable initiatives for the development of kerala are Vallarpadam Transhipments Terminal, Vizhinjam Port, Smart City, Metro Rail, Capital City Development, Kerala State Transport Project, Sabarimala Master Plan, Kannur International Airport, and Trivandrum International Airport and so on.
DEATH:
Oommen Chandy passed away in a hospital in Bengaluru on the morning of 18th July after a prolonged illness. Chandy was undergoing treatment for cancer since 2019 and his death was announced by his son in Facebook around 4.30 .a.m. As a mark of respect Kerala Government has declared two days of bereavement and Tuesday as a public holiday including all government offices and educational institutions. The exams of the Mahatma Gandhi, Kerala and Calicut Universities which are to be conducted on July 18 have also been cancelled.
The funeral of Oommen Chandy, who passed away on Tuesday, will be held at 2.30 pm on July 20 at Puthuppally Church, Kottayam. The mortal remains will be lifted off to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru by Tuesday noon and will be commemorated for the public to pay respect at the Durbal Hall, St. George’s Orthodox Cathedral and Indira Bhavan in the capital. The body will be displaced to his residence ‘Puthuppally House’ by night. On Tuesday morning for one hour Chandy’s body will be premised for public viewing at the residence of former minister T John at Indira Nagar in Bengaluru where Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will pay their respects to the leader.
