Veteran Congress leader and former Minister Kadavoor Sivadasan passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday following age-related ailments. He was 87.
The body was brought to Kollam and kept at the District Congress Committe office and his house at Anandavalleeswaram for the public to pay their last respects before the cremation at Mulankadakam. He is survived by daughter Mini and son Shaji.
Mr. Sivadasan, who started his political career through the Progressive Students Union, later became a leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). One of the prominent political figures of Kollam, he later joined the Congress and served as Kollam DCC president.
He was elected to the Assembly in 1980, 1982, 1991, 1996 and 2001, and was made Minister four times. He handled the portfolios of Electricity, Forest, Excise, Health, and Labour in the United Democratic Front governments led by A.K. Antony and the late K. Karunakaran. Also an eminent trade unionist, he played a crucial role in forming welfare boards for labourers in unorganised sectors.
Politicians and prominent figures from socio-cultural fields condoled the death of Mr. Sivadasan.