Thiruvananthapuram:Ā Political leaders such as Prime MinisterĀ NarendraĀ Modi, former Prime MinisterĀ ManmohanĀ Singh, Kerala Governor PĀ Sathasivam, Chief MinisterĀ PinarayiĀ Vijayan, Kerala assembly Speaker PĀ Sreeramakrishnan, Congress leader K CĀ VenugopalĀ and BJP state president P SĀ SreedharanĀ PillaiĀ condoled the death of former finance minister K M Mani.
86-year-old Kerala Congress (M) leader K M Mani who was admitted to a private hospital for chest infection and been kept under close medical observation passed away yesterday. He is survived by his wife and six children. He has been suffering fromĀ COPDĀ (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) for several years and was undergoing treatment at the VPS Lakeshore hospital for pulmonary disease. He breathed his last at 4.57 pm yesterday.
Governor P Sathasivam expressed his grief and said the senior legislator was behind several welfare measures like pension for farmers and Karunya Lottery Benevolent scheme and had earned the people’s support because of them.
“That he holds the record for continuously representing the Pala constituency since 1965 and presenting maximum number of state budgets, evince the acceptance he had earned through his work as a statesman,” the Governor stated.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Mani was a leader who had won the love and respect of everyone in and outside the Assembly, cutting across party lines. He had shown special focus in presenting the issues of public interest especially the issues of farmers in the House.”
He further said that the veteran leader was an eminent legislator and that heĀ used to present the issues of the state after studying them thoroughly andĀ had created a place for himself in world parliamentary politics in his 54 years political career and this is a record which no other legislator in the state assembly could boast of.
Mani was an all-time tall leader of the Congress-led UDF and doyen of State politics, praised Senior Congress leader K C Venugopal.Ā “Mani was a leader who had created history in parliamentary politics. Though he had stayed away from the UDF for a brief while, his heart was always with the front,” he said.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan PillaiĀ was also among the others who payed tributes to the departed leader. He said Mani was a politician who was a model to future generations.
Mani’s party colleague and senior KC-M leader, P J Joseph said the death was a “big loss” to Kerala politics and Speaker P SreeramakrishnanĀ the leader had actively participated in the businesses of the state assembly even during the last session.