Covid-19: Kanyakumari MP laid to rest in native village

H Vasanthakumar, Congress MP and founder of leading home appliances chain Vasanth and Co who died due to Covid-19 on Friday was laid to rest at his native village in Kanyakumari district in the presence of hundreds of people.

The funeral was held on Sunday morning, hours after the mortal remains of Vasanthakumar was brought from Chennai, where he breathed his last on August 28. With hundreds of people participating in the last rites ceremony, Covid-19 rules physical distancing and the wearing of masks went for a toss.

The body was handed over to the Kanyakumari MP’s family on Friday evening by the private hospital where he was admitted since August 10 as his swab samples collected on the day he died returned as negative. Last rites of positive Covid-19 patients are conducted by government staff along with their family members.

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The mortal remains of Vasanthakumar were kept at his house in Agastheeswaram in the district for a few hours during which a host of leaders from various political parties, including AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and former BJP Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, paid their last respects.

The casket containing the Congress MP’s mortal remains were taken in a procession and he was buried near the resting place of his father and mother in a farm owned by the family. Heart-rendering scenes were witnessed as the casket was lowered in a pit and Vasanthakumar’s children – Vinoth and Vijayvasanth – cried profusely as they performed the last rites.

Vasanthakumar,70, died on Friday after being infected with Coronavirus. The Congress leader began his life as a salesman and grew to become one of the most successful businessmen in Tamil Nadu by launching Vasanth and Co, multi-brand home appliances and electronics stores, that became a household name in the state over the years.

Hailing from a Congress family, Vasanthakumar entered the Tamil Nadu Assembly from Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district in 2006 and got re-elected from the same seat 10 years later. However, he resigned in 2019 after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanyakumari.