Former Minister and Congress leader Damodaran Kalassery died at a private hospital in Ernakulam on Friday. He was 88.
The funeral will be held with full State honours at his house at Pathinonnam Mile, near Cherthala, at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
During his early days in the social sphere, he had tried to unite various Dalit organisations. Mr. Kalassery was first elected to the State Assembly in 1970 from the Pandalam Assembly constituency. He retained the seat in the 1977 elections.
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Mr. Kalassery became Minister for Scheduled Castes, Devaswoms and Social Welfare in the Ministry of P.K. Vasudevan Nair in 1978. He waived the fee for Scheduled Caste candidates applying for Public Service Commission examinations. During his tenure as Minister, he had taken steps to acquire land for the construction of an Ayyankali statue at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram.
His wife, Bhanumathi, died a few years ago. He is survived by children Girija, Gopi Kalassery, Soja, Ajitha and Sajeev Kalassery.
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