Kochi: Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M. Mani, 86, one of the tallest figures in Kerala politics who remained a legislator for an unbroken 54 years, died in Kochi on Tuesday following prolonged illness.
He was under treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for long and was admitted to the VPS Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi on April 5 when his condition worsened. A medical bulletin issued by the hospital on Tuesday said that he was stable and responding to medicines. But by afternoon he turned critical and the doctors announced his death by 4.57 p.m. His wife, children and relatives were near him when he breathed his last. He is survived by wife Kuttiyamma, son Jose K. Mani, MP, and five daughters, Elsamma, Annie, Saly, Tessy and Smitha.
His body, which was kept at the hospital mortuary, will be taken to his Karingozhackal house at Pala on Wednesday. The body will be kept at the KC (M) office in Kottayam and also at Thirunakkara grounds for some time to enable the public to pay their last respects and the funeral will be held at 3 p.m. at St. Thomas Cathedral, Pala, on Thursday.
Mani, who was elected to the Kerala Assembly for the first time in 1965 from Pala, Kottayam district, never lost an election and represented the constituency till his death.
Mani holds the record for being a minister for the longest period in Kerala and having presented 13 budgets in the state Assembly. He is credited with introducing the successful patient-help scheme ‘Karunya.’
Governor Justice P. Sathasivam and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of the senior leader.
Minutes after Mani's demise, his son Jose K. Mani posted a tribute on his Facebook page. “This moment there is a sense of vacuum. The courage instilled by Achachan has suddenly been lost and his guidance has been lost forever,” he said.
In an interview earlier, Jose K. Mani had recalled how he was packed off to a residential school in Ooty during his childhood making him homesick. His ‘Achachan’ had made arrangements to send a leading English daily from Kochi all the way to Ooty by car for years to enhance his vocabulary in the language. Many a time, Mani had said that there were only two things he loved throughout his life--his wife Kuttyyamma and his homeland, Pala.
For everyone, K. M. Mani was ‘Mani Sir’ but the majority in the party do not remember how the name was coined. Old timers recall addressing him as ‘Mani Sir’ right from the time he became an MLA in 1965.
