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Oommen Chandy’s death has been described as the end of an era in Kerala politics by CM Pinarayi Vijayan (file photo)
The church committee decided to change this practice as a mark of respect to ‘Kunjoonju’, as Chandy was known among the villagers and his admirers
The remains of the two-time Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, who died in Bengaluru on Tuesday, will be buried in a private grave in the private area of ​​his village church, where priests are buried.
As preparations continue in full swing for his funeral on Thursday, a private tomb is being built for Chandni in a private area of ​​the church premises instead of his family’s vault in the cemetery.
The authorities of St. George’s Orthodox Church, popularly known as “Puthuppally Palli” in local parlance, have decided to change their decades-old practice of burying the common dead in the church cemetery or in their family vaults there in favor of the Congress.
The church committee decided to change this practice as a mark of respect to “Kunjoonju”, as he was known among the villagers and his admirers.
Church vicar Varghese Varghese said the decision was taken considering the enormous contributions Chandni has made to the parish and the church in these decades.
He said, “A decision was made to place him on the church grounds where the remains of the late priests were buried, taking into account his virtues and the contributions he made to the parish and the church.”
According to common practice, he said, the remains of a lay believer are buried in the cemetery and those of priests in a special area to the north or south of the church.
Chandi’s tomb is being prepared near the priests’ tomb. The priest said, “The general feeling of the parish is that his grave will remain a permanent memorial in the church buildings.”
Recalling Chandni’s contributions to the parish, he said that the former Chief Minister is one of the people who contributed the most to its modernization and development.
Right from his younger days, Chandni was very active in youth movement, Sunday school activities, church prayer meetings and it paved the way for his growth as a public activist, MLA, Minister and Chief Minister of the Church. state, the deputy added.
To bid for the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, the remains of Chandni – who died in Bengaluru a day earlier – were brought to Kottayam, a stronghold of the Congress party, on Wednesday morning.
His dead body was taken to Kottayam by road in a specially modified low-floor bus draped with garlands and images of Chandi and filled with party leaders and workers.
Arrangements have been made at the Thirunakkara Ground here for the public to pay homage to Chandni and after that, his body will be taken to his home in Puthuppally.
Chandy has been representing the constituency of Puthuppally, people call him ‘Kunjukunju’, for the past 53 years and the locals remember that the doors of his house were always open for anyone to come in and discuss matters with him at any time of the day.
Chandni, who twice served as Chief Minister of Kerala, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Partisan sources said that his end came while he was undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 79 years old.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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