The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : `Nobility of deeds was PKV's strength'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 17, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

`Nobility of deeds was PKV's strength'

Staff Reporter

He was a parliamentarian who gained the respect of all MPs, says Karunakaran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The late P.K. Vasudevan Nair was a simple, sincere and committed leader of the masses whose strength was the nobility of his deeds, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.

He was speaking at the memorial meeting for `PKV' organised by the State Council of the Communist Party of India (CPI) here on Saturday.

It was this nobility that placed PKV a cut above other political leaders. His strength was never due to the power of the offices he held. "When PKV was Industries Minister, I was the Labour Minister," Mr. Chandy said. "Power never separated PKV from the people. In fact, whether he was in power or not, he was constantly thinking how best he can serve the people." Mr. Chandy described PKV as a powerful personality who always placed great importance on maintaining personal relations irrespective of any political differences he had with any person.

Communist movement

In his address, Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan pointed out that PKV had come into politics during the early days of the Communist movement in the country. "He was attracted to the Communist movement at a time when wherever there was a lathi, it used to fall on the Communists. But such things never deterred PKV. One thing that people can never forget was his disarming smile," Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Speaking on the occasion, National Congress(I) leader K. Karunakaran said PKV was a parliamentarian who gained the respect of all MPs across the political divide. "He went to Parliament at a time when the house was full of stalwarts. That he was able to gain the respect of all leaders shows his mettle. If PKV suggests a solution to any problem, there were not many who wanted to disagree with it. He was a leader who worked in coalition with the Governments even though he was not one to make any compromises on his ideology or principles," Mr. Karunakaran said. Kerala needs leaders like PKN now more than ever before, he said.

Public faith

The former Chief Minister A. K. Antony said PKV's life and work helped restore some amount of public faith in political leaders when there had been a slide in that faith over the years. His work had often boosted the morale of other politicians.

"When I spoke to friends who are not in politics, they told me that Kerala has lost a good man. People essentially saw in PKV a very good person. He had a great power to create a consensus even in a situation where people had sharp differences of opinion. His smile never failed to make an impact," Mr. Antony said.

Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited and the Malabar Cements are two public sector units that stand as memorials to PKV who was instrumental in setting up these institutions. The life and work of PKV should be emulated by all politicians, he added.

CPI State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan presided over the meeting.

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