‘Goodbye Comrade’: Kerala Fills The Streets As Achuthanandan Begins His Remaining Journey
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Hundreds in Kerala mourned former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and different leaders paid tribute. Kerala declared three days of mourning.
The mortal stays of former Kerala chief minister and veteran CPI (M) chief VS Achuthanandan being taken to his native place Alappuzha from the state Secretariat, in Thiruvananthapuram. (IMAGE: PTI)
The roads of Kerala turned purple on Tuesday as 1000’s lined the nationwide freeway, pouring in to bid farewell to former Kerala chief minister and veteran Indian communist chief VS Achuthanandan. Hundreds took to the streets to mourn the person who fought his manner from the fields and manufacturing unit flooring to the frontlines of India’s communist motion.
The turnout was staggering. In CPI(M) chief Thomas Isaac’s phrases, “It has taken eight hours for the cortege to cowl simply 30 kilometers” indicating that it was not crowd management however the plenty refusing to let go. He additionally posted a picture of the ocean of individuals lining the freeway, referring to the photograph he shared on X exhibiting crowds stretching for miles to pay tribute to Achuthanandan.
Achuthanandan wasn’t like the opposite legends of Indian communism. Whereas EMS Namboodiripad, Jyoti Basu and EK Nayanar got here from privilege and located communism in its books, Achuthanandan lived the brutality they theorized.
Crushed and left for useless by colonial police in a pre-Independence staff’ protest, he bought again up and by no means stopped preventing.
When he lastly turned Kerala’s Chief Minister, the workplace didn’t tame him. He took on land mafias, corruption and even factionalism in his personal social gathering. He referred to as issues as they have been and for that, generations referred to as him merely “VS”.
It’s unprecedented! Crowds gathered to pay homage to the departed chief VS are so enormous all alongside the NH, it has taken 8 hours to the funeral cortege to traverse the primary 30 kms. It’s a testimony of how a lot VS had endeared to the folks of Kerala. Purple salute Comrade. pic.twitter.com/R5kFFGUom2— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) July 22, 2025
On Tuesday, Kerala gave him a honourable ship off.
Within the morning, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the residence of the late chief to pay his respects. State ministers, together with V Sivankutty, and senior CPI(M) leaders additionally paid tribute.
The Kerala authorities has declared a three-day mourning interval beginning July 22 as a mark of respect. Throughout this era, the nationwide flag will probably be flown at half-mast on all authorities buildings throughout the state. All state authorities places of work, academic establishments, public sector models, statutory our bodies, and institutions coated underneath the Negotiable Devices Act remained closed on Tuesday.
In a message shared on social media, Chief Minister Vijayan mentioned Achuthanandan performed a key function in Kerala’s political historical past and contributed to actions just like the Punnapra-Vayalar rebellion. The ultimate rites will probably be held after the general public homage.
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers worldwide affairs, the place he focuses on breaking information to in-depth analyses. He has over 5 years of expertise throughout which he has coated sev…Learn Extra
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers worldwide affairs, the place he focuses on breaking information to in-depth analyses. He has over 5 years of expertise throughout which he has coated sev… Learn Extra
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Thiruvananthapuram, India, India
- First Revealed:
