Veteran Communist leader and a minister in the first State cabinet, K.R. Gouri, turned 99 on Sunday.
Hundreds of well-wishers cutting across party lines and Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS) party workers called on the leader to offer birthday greetings.
She celebrated her birthday, falling on the Thiruvonam star in Mithunam month of the Malayalam almanac, by cutting a cake at a function held at Raiban auditorium here. This was followed by a feast, which was attended by people from all walks of life.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran, former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran and others visited her residence at Chathanad and conveyed birthday wishes.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby joined the celebrations. CPI(M) State committee member C.B. Chandra Babu, district panchayat president G. Venugopal, A.M. Arif MLA, Rajan Babu, Congress leaders — D. Sugathan, C.R. Jayaprakash — and others were also present at the function.
Known as a firebrand leader, she lost little resilience even at an advanced age. She was active throughout the day and shared many memories with people who visited her.
Born at Pattanakad in Alappuzha district as the seventh daughter of K.A. Raman and Parvathi Amma, Ms. Gouri ventured into party politics at a time when not many women dared to enter politics. She became Revenue Minister in the first Communist government led by EMS Nampoothiripad in 1957. She later held portfolios including Agriculture, Social Welfare, Industries during a political career spanning several decades.
She was jailed on a number of occasions for political activities. After the split in the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1964, Ms. Gouri joined the newly-formed Communist Party of India (Marxist).
In 1994, she was expelled from the CPI (M) for anti-party activities. Following this, she established JSS and joined the United Democratic Front (UDF). In 2016, she severed ties with the UDF.
