The funeral of Kanam Rajendran, State secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), was conducted here with State honours on Sunday.
The cremation was held on the premises of his ancestral home at Kanam, near Vazhoor, around 11 a.m. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan , CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan paid their last respects to the departed soul. Ministers K. Rajan, Roshy Augustine, Antony Raju, Ahmmmad Devarkovil, A.K. Saseendran, K. Krishnankutty, K.N. Balagopal, V.N. Vasavan, Saji Cherian, K. Radhakrishnan, R. Bindu, P. Prasad, G.R. Anil, J. Chinchurani, also offered their tributes, besides various Members of Parliament, legislators. Kottayam District Collector was also present.
Sandeep, son of the late leader, lit the funeral pyre at 11 a.m.
Earlier, the funeral cortege carrying the mortal remains of Kanam Rajendran reached the party district committee office in Kottayam on Saturday midnight and was kept there for the party workers and the public to pay their last respects. It was later taken to his ancestral home where the inflow of people continued without a break till late on Sunday morning.
En route its journey from Thiruvanathapuram, people queued up at different points along the Main Central Road to offer tributes to the departed soul. Senior CPI leader Pannian Raveendran was among those who accompanied the dead body on its final journey.