Tributes paid to Varkala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Assembly, on Monday, paid rich tributes to the former Speaker Varkala Radhakrishnan who died following a road accident recently.

Speaker K. Radhakrishnan, in his obituary reference, described Varkala Radhakrishnan as an erudite parliamentarian who made substantial contributions to the legislative process. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan recalled Radhakrishnans contributions to the Right to Information Act when it was framed in Parliament. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had hailed his legal prowess and the contributions made by him in framing the Act. Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said Radhakrishnan, as Speaker, had set a model worth emulating. When Radhakrishnan was officiating as private secretary to Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Mr. Chandy had called on him as a Kerala Students Union leader. He had taken keen interest in students issues and showed how a person active in public life should conduct himself. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C. Divakaran said the late leader had played a pivotal role in building the Left and progressive movement in the State. Kerala Congress(M) leader K.M. Mani said Radhakrishnan had set a lot of best practices as Speaker. Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran, Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran, Transport Minister Jose Thettayil, K.P. Mohanan, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, P.M.A. Salam, K.K. Shaju, C.T. Ahammed Ali and V. Surendran Pillai also spoke.