People from all walks of life, on Monday, paid their last respects to Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former MP T. Govindan who died on Sunday.
The veteran leader, who represented the Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency in the 1996, 1998, and 1999 elections, died at a private hospital in Mangalore. He was 71. Ailing from heart disease, he was shifted to the hospital in Mangalore after his condition worsened.
There was a large turnout of people when the body was kept for public viewing at Gandhi Maidan here from 7 a.m. Though the funeral was scheduled to be held at Mambalam here at 11 a.m., it was delayed owing to the rush of people in and around his native place here to the Gandhi Maidan who wanted to pay homage to the dead leader.
Among those who paid homage were party State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan; Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan; party central committee members E.P. Jayarajan and P.K. Sreemathy; State committee members M.V. Govindan and K.P. Sahadevan; P. Karunakaran, MP; and MLAs C. Krishnan, T.V. Rajesh, and A.K. Kunhiraman. Kerala Folklore Akademi secretary M. Pradeepkumar laid a wreath on behalf of Minister for Culture K.C. Joseph. The body was taken for cremation at around noon.
