No bugles were sounded and there were no uniformed police personnel to accord a gun salute as former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy was laid to rest as a commoner, fulfilling his wish, in Puthuppally near here on Thursday night.
He was buried at 12:02 am in a special tomb at St. George Orthodox Church here alongside the departed priests. Senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, former defence minister A K Antony, state ministers and leaders of various political parties attended Chandy's funeral at the church where he used to attend the holy mass on Sundays despite his hectic schedule as the chief minister.
Thousands of people gathered at the church to bid an emotional farewell to their 'Kunjoonju', as Chandy was affectionately called by the people of Puthuppally, the constituency he represented in the state assembly for more than five decades.
The Congress stalwart's family members, including his wife Mariamma Oommen, three children and grandchildren, were inconsolable as his mortal remains were lowered into the grave. Chandy died at a hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday after prolonged illness. He was 79.
Chandy had wanted a common man's burial and accordingly, he was laid to rest without the state honours that are usually accorded to former chief ministers. Earlier in the day, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar and various state ministers paid rich tributes to Chandy at the Thirunakkara Ground here.
State Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan, who hails from Kottayam, accompanied the bus carrying Chandy's mortal remains from Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, actors Mammootty and Suresh Gopi, religious leaders and thousands of others paid homage to Chandy at the Thirunakkara Ground.
People offered flowers and some even cried as they got one last glimpse of the former chief minister. It was an emotionally charged environment at the Thirunakkara Ground with Congress workers and supporters raising slogans like "He (Chandy) has not died, he lives within us", "There is none other like him" and "We have no other leader".
From the Thirunakkara Ground, Chandy's remains were taken to his ancestral home -- 'Karottu Vallakkalil' house -- in Puthuppally, almost 36 hours after leaving his residence in Thiruvananthapuram the previous morning. A journey of around 150 kilometres, which normally should have taken about 3-4 hours, took considerably longer due to thousands gathering along the route for a final glimpse of Chandy.
After prayers at Chandy's ancestral home, his mortal remains were shifted to his new house being constructed nearby. Many lamented they were unable to see him or pay homage to him. At his second house, arrangements were made for the public to pay homage to Chandy amidst a second round of prayers.
Thousands queued up and paid tributes to Chandy as his wife sat near him with tears in her eyes. Thereafter, the funeral procession to the church commenced. Meanwhile, award-winning Malayalam actor Vinayakan landed in trouble over his remarks against Chandy.
In a viral Facebook video on Wednesday, the actor had asked "Who is this Oommen Chandy?" and "why three days' mourning has been declared in the state on his demise". A Congress activist lodged a police complaint against the actor over his comments. In his complaint lodged in Kochi, the Congress activist alleged that Vinayakan insulted Chandy and demanded immediate action against the actor.
