Rich tributes were paid on Monday to legislators who were instrumental in shaping modern Kerala society.
The day also witnessed former legislators including Simon Britto, M.A. Chandrasekharan, Dinesh Mani, Dominic Presentation and M.J. Jacob being felicitated for their contributions as members of the Legislative Assembly.
It was on the occasion of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly that the former legislators were felicitated.
In his address, critic M.K. Sanoo remembered the contributions of Pandit Karuppan, Sahodaran Ayyappan, Mathai Manjooran and Alexander Parambithara, who through their principled stand and social responsibility, laid the foundation for modern Kerala society. Most of the legislators fought against caste discrimination and dreamt of an egalitarian society, he said.
S. Sarma, MLA, who inaugurated the conference, pointed out that the Kerala Legislative Assembly had passed several landmark legislations including the Kerala Land Reforms Act and the ones that brought in decentralisation of power, education and women empowerment. The State Assembly had witnessed several socially significant legislations that earned a name for the State, he said.
Hibi Eden, MLA, presided over the meeting.
Those who were felicitated included P.P. Thankachan, K. Muhamadali, Babu Paul, Jose Thettayil, P.C. Joseph, P.J. Joy, Ludy Luiz, V.J. Poulose, P. Raju, Saju Paul, Sebastian Paul, M.P. Varghese, A.M. Yusuf, M.V. Mani, Mr. Sanoo, I.V. Issac and K.V. Thomas, MP. Anoop Jacob, MLA, Mayor Soumini Jain, District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla, and Legislative Secretary V.K. Babu Prakash attended.
An exhibition featuring the history of the State Assembly also began at the main hall of Maharaja’s College.
