Kerala Assembly pays homage to late P T Thomas
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Monday paid homage to late Thrikkakkara MLA P T Thomas, who on December 22 last year succumbed to cancer.
Assembly Speaker M B Rajesh, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition (LoP) V D Satheesan and several MLAs spoke about Thomas and remembered him as a bold and energetic voice inside and outside the House.
He died while undergoing treatment for cancer at Christian Medical College in Vellore.
The Speaker said that Thomas was a person who never compromised on what was right according to him to achieve universal approval.
He further said that when Thomas was an MP, he never missed a day of Parliament and even as an MLA, when he was keeping unwell, he was more concerned about assembly proceedings.
His unexpected death is a loss to the state and not just the UDF opposition, the Speaker said.
Speaking on similar lines, the CM also paid his respects to the late Congress MLA.
Remembering his contribution in the assembly proceedings, the CM said that Thomas often took a stance that was different from the general approach and which seemed right to him on issues related to communalism and the environment.
Thomas never gave up in the face of illness and everyone expected him to pull through, but those hopes were shattered with his untimely death, Vijayan said in the Assembly.
Remembering his association with Thomas, Satheesan said he was brought into mainstream politics by the former.
The LoP further said that Thomas always stood firm on his convictions not only on political issues but also on environmental matters and even when his stance became controversial, he never backed down or gave up.
He was a fighter and a person who always held up the banner of secularism in Kerala, Satheesan added.
Several other members of the Assembly also shared their fond memories of the late Thrikkakkara MLA and thereafter, the House dispersed for the day.
