KANNUR: Sukumar Azhikode was given a tearful farewell by the people here on Wednesday. The body was consigned to flames on the historic Payyambalam beach. Rajesh and Manoj, the nephews of Azhikode, and Suresh, the car driver and constant companion of Azhikode, lit the funeral pyre. The funeral pyre had been kept ready just opposite to the memorials of a row of communist leaders including E K Nayanar.The body was brought in a procession from the Town Square where it was kept for the public to pay homage from 7.45 am. The cortege was led by politicians and some of the close relatives of Azhikode. Earlier, hundreds of people from different walks of life including politicians, writers and his admirers had turned up to have a last look of him when his body was placed at the Tows Square. The body was kept at the Mahatma Mandiram after it was brought from Thrissur on Tuesday night.The cremation took place with state honours, sans the ritualistic firing of shots in the sky by cops.CONDOLENCE MEET HELDAddressing a condolence meeting held on the Payyambalam beach a few minutes after the cremation of the body of Azhikode, Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan eulogised the role of the late writer in the freedom movement of the nation. He said that Azhikode was an ardent follower of Gandhiji and had spent much of his life to propagate the ideals of the Gandhiji.“Azhikode was a true Congressman who became a critic of the Emergency. He came closer to the Left as a consequence of the Emergency,” said VS. “The courageous Master earned the love and respect of the people and became a model to society.” Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan addressing the condolence meeting, said that Sukumar Azhikode had always taken an uncompromising approach against corruption. He was a literary man who communicated with the people of the state through his speeches. His voice of courage will remain with the people, said the Speaker. CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said while addressing the meeting that Azhikode was a man who could attract crowd to his meetings surprising even the well-organised political parties.“Azhikode had criticised the LDF as he had criticised other parties as well, and the LDF had taken his criticisms seriously. Azhikode had set a model to public workers and the admirable courage shown by him would remain with society,” said Pinarayi.Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran described him as the “face of vigilance” in society. He turned speech into an impressive art form, said Mullappally. K C Venugopal, Union Minister of State for Energy, described Azhikode as a man who tried to reform society through his criticisms.K Sudhakaran MP presided over the condolence meeting. Rural Development Minister K C Joseph, Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer, BJP leader P K Krishna Das, CPI leader Panniyan Raveendran, K M Shaji MLA and A P Abdullakutty MLA spoke.
Comments
0 comment