Veteran Congress leader Thalekunni Basheer, who served as both the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary and vice president, passed away on Thursday, March 24. He passed away at his residence in Vembayam. He was 79 and is said to have been suffering from heart-related ailments for a while. Basheer was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice, in 1977-79 and 1979-84; and also to the Lok Sabha twice, in 1984-89 and 1989-91.
In the 1977 Assembly elections, Basheer was elected as the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Kazhakuttom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram. However, months after he assumed office, Basheer resigned from his post. This was reportedly done to pave the way for AK Antony to become Chief Minister, as the latter was hurriedly sworn in as CM later that year. Antony, who was not an MLA at the time, needed to win an Assembly seat within six months in order to become Chief Minister. Days before the deadline, in October 1977, Antony won the Kazhakuttam bye-election – facilitated by Basheer’s resignation.
A graduate from Ivanios College and Law College, Basheer has also authored several books including 'Velicham Kooduthal Velicham', 'Rajeev Gandhi: Surya Thejassinte Ormakku', 'Mandelayude Nattil, Gandhijiyudeyum' and 'K Damodaran Muthal Berlin Kunjananthan Nair Vare'.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed condolences to the late leader and his family. “He was a leader who upheld the values of Congress politics”, he said. In his condolence message, the Chief Minister said that Basheer had tried to intervene in the people's issues and uphold the public interest beyond the narrow interests.
Former Union minister Mukul Wasnik, who is also the general secretary of the Indian National Congress, also offered his condolences. Deeply saddened by the sad demise of senior Congress leader Thalekunnil Basheer ji. He will always be remembered for his active and well informed participation in parliamentary debates and in upholding value based politics. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.