Politician who put people first
“My mantra has always been to work hard, to stay humble, and to never forget that public service is a privilege.”
Oommen Chandy nee Kunjoonju was a member of the Indian National Congress (INS) and was Chief Minister of Kerala, for two terms from 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016 and the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.
Born in Kumarakom, Puthuppally, Kottayam district in a Syrian Christian family, he graduated from CMS College, Kottayam and did BA in Economics from St. Berchmans College, Changanassery and LLB from Law College, Ernakulam.
- Oommen, his grandfather was a Travancore Legislative Council member. Chandy entered politics as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the INC. He went on to become the State President in 1967 and was elected President of the State Youth Congress in 1970.
Just 27 years when elected first, he represented the Puthuppally constituency for five decades from 1970 until his death, making him the longest-serving member of the Assembly. He handled as Minister, the portfolios of Labour, Home and Finance, and was Chairman, Public Accounts Committee 1996–1998.
During his stints as Chief Minister, he was instrumental in implementing several infrastructure projects in the State, once thought impossible. These included the Vizhinjam Container Transshipment Terminal project, Kochi Metro Rail, Smart City, Kannur Airport, Medical colleges, Development of road bypasses, etc.
He was absolved of involvement in controversies like the 2013 Kerala solar panel scam, Vizhinjam Port corruption accusation, the Pattoor land case and the Palmolein oil import scam.
His slogans Athivegam bahudooram (Fast and Far) and Vikasanavum karuthalaum (Development and Care) gained traction. His innovative approach to ensure transparency and accountability in governance, particularly the web-streaming of the entire functioning of CM’s office was lauded.
Chandy named his residence in Thiruvananthapuram ‘Puthuppally’. He would visit his ancestral home Karottu-Vallakkalil in Puthuppally constituency on Saturday night and leave on Sunday night, a schedule he never broke. He conducted his weekly durbar.
He was arguably the only legislator and chief minister from Kerala who widely travelled across the state, making the maximum use of the public transport system, cutting his dependence only when he aged.
Chandy organised the widely-popular Jana Samparka Paripadi (mass contact programme) across districts to listen to public grievances directly and resolve them on the spot. It was the first of its kind to ensure the right to direct access to leaders and senior civil servants of the government. The programme received the United Nations global award for Public Service award programme in 2013, the only Indian chief minister to achieve it.
Chandy led a sacramental life serving the people. A philanthropist who did not allow his sense of empathy dry up until his last moments, compassion was the theme of his life. The ultimate people’s leader, his commitment and visionary leadership left an indelible mark on Kerala’s development scenario. Interestingly, he never used a mobile phone but used the phones of those around him as well as his security officials.
Chandy died at Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Bengaluru aged 79 due to complications from throat cancer. After being airlifted to Thiruvananthapuram, the funeral procession to Kottayam and his burial in a special tomb alongside departed priests at St George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally took 30 hours.
As per his last wishes, the funeral was conducted with only religious rituals and without any official state honours. In fact, his tomb is now part of travel packages by tour operators. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, to which Chandy belonged, left the question on possible sainthood for the political stalwart open. He is survived by his spouse, Mariamma and three children.
A.Radhakrishnan is a Pune based freelance journalist, poet and short story writer.