As curtains on the wall-mounted frames drew back, the life-like holographic images of four former Chief Ministers seemed to cast their gaze on the stately interiors of the old Assembly hall in the Secretariat building here.
For Speaker G. Karthikeyan, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, and Ministers who attended the function held to unveil the holograms, a project taken up by the Institute of Parliamentary Affairs, it was a trip down memory lane.
In his inaugural address, Mr. Chandy said the four former Chief Ministers featured — E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Pattom Thanu Pillai, R. Sankar and C. Achutha Menon — were leaders who had found a place in the hearts of people, not by wielding power but through their contribution to society.
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He said the holograms of four more Chief Ministers — P.K. Vasudevan Nair, E.K. Nayanar, C.H. Mohammed Koya, and K. Karunakaran — would soon be installed in the old Assembly hall. Presiding over the function, Mr. Karthikeyan said the old Assembly building evoked memories of animated debates and landmark legislation. “Though they subscribed to different political ideologies, the four former Chief Ministers saw Kerala as one. It is a democratic spirit that has to passed on to generations,” he said.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Achuthanandan stressed the need to protect the old Assembly hall as a historical monument and develop it as a museum with a light- and-sound-show featuring the history of the State’s legislature.
He said the General Administration Department and the Institute of Parliamentary Affairs could take the initiative for the project.
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Finance Minister K.M. Mani, Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty, Rural Development Minister K.C. Joseph, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed, Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb, and MLAs K. Sivadasan Nair and Abdurahman Randathani and director of the institute T.Varghese spoke.