Senior Kerala leader Aryadan Mohammed laid to rest in Malappuram

The mortal remains of senior party leader and eight-time legislator Aryadan Mohammed, who passed away on Sunday, were laid to rest on Monday, September 26, with full state honours near his residence at Nilambur in Malappuram of Kerala. Aryadan Mohammed died at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Sunday, at age 87. A three-time minister, he was undergoing treatment for the past one week. A large crowd, including family, friends and Congress party workers, were present at his residence on Monday morning and accompanied the funeral procession to the mosque. As the procession moved towards the mosque, party workers bid him an emotional farewell by calling him a "Sultan of Congress".

Aryadan Mohammed had represented Nilambur constituency eight times from 1977 to 2011 and was a minister in the first EK Nayanar cabinet. Aryadan was the Tourism and Labour Minister in the Antony government and was the Electricity minister in the Oomen Chandy government. He was also a member of the CPI(M) leader EK Nayanar-led LDF government in 1980, when the Congress party of Kerala split and the faction owing allegiance to AK Antony joined the Left government. However, the government fell in 1982.

Aryadan was accused and jailed in the murder case of a CPI(M) leader from Nilambur in Kunhali in the 1960s but was later acquited.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and leaders cutting across political lines had condoled the demise of the senior Congress leader. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while condoling the demise of Aryadan, said that he will always be remembered as a leader who stood for the secular credentials of the country.