The mortal remains of former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will be kept at the old AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram for the public to pay homage on Monday evening (July 21, 2025).
Later, the body will be taken to the house of his son, V.S. Arun Kumar, at Barton Hill in the city. On Tuesday (July 22, 2025), Mr. Achuthanandan’s body will lie in State at the iconic Durbar Hall at the Secretariat. Mr. Achuthanandan’s cortege will proceed to Alappuzha on Tuesday afternoon.
Hundreds of people are expected to line the road to Alappuzha to pay their respects to the veteran communist leader and freedom fighter.
At Alappuzha, Mr. Achuthanandan’s remains will be kept at his family home for the night.
Funeral on Wednesday
On Wednesday, Mr. Achuthanandan will be cremated with full State and party honours at the Valiyachudukadu cemetery, the final resting place of hundreds of martyrs of the historic 1946 Punnapra Vayalar uprising against landlords and the feudal-colonial regime.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary M.V. Govindan told reporters that party flags would fly at half-mast until the mourning period ends.
With Mr. Achuthanandan’s condition worsening on Monday noon, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Health Minister Veena George, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, Law Minister P. Rajeeve, and scores of party workers, including Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener T.K. Ramakrishnan, CPI(M) Thiruvananthapuram district secretary V. Joy, reached the hospital. The hospital authorities pronounced Mr. Achuthanandan dead from a massive cardiac arrest at 3.20 p.m.
Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak also visited the hospital to confer with the Ministers to make arrangements for a State funeral for the late Chief Minister. The Ministers and Mr. Jayathilak held talks with Mr. Achuthanandan’s family members to finalise the arrangements.
Hundreds of workers converged at the private hospital where Mr. Achuthanandan breathed his last.
A living legend: Brinda
Veteran CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat termed Mr. Achuthanandan a living legend, a history-maker, and a warrior. “The beloved comrade was a warrior for the poor. He had a heart so big that he would intensely feel the pain of the deprived, the exploited and the downtrodden. The history of the communist party is deeply intertwined with the life of the comrade. He understood human suffering and worked for working class upliftment,” she told reporters in New Delhi.
Published – July 21, 2025 05:35 pm IST
