Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 2 (IANS) Cutting across party lines, the Kerala assembly paid tributes for the third day Tuesday to T.M. Jacob, the state civil supplies minister who died Sunday.
Jacob, 61, was buried Tuesday at his home parish near Piravom in Ernakulam district. Jacob, who led the Kerala Congress-Jacob and was its sole legislator, was ailing for some time and was in and out of hospital since he became a minister inMay.
‘His (Jacob’s) commitment to his work and the manner in which he worked was unique to him alone,’ said Speaker G. Karthikeyan.
As state education minister (1982-87), Jacob saw several new initiatives being commissioned, Karthikeyan added.
Jacob was a member of the assembly from 1997 till 2006.
Defeated in 2006 assembly polls, he returned in the 2011 elections.
‘The way he carried himself as a minister and his work speaks everything about him,’ recalled Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
‘He started off as a student leader and went on to become an efficient and effective politician and his absence would be felt,’ said Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan.
‘He was a workaholic and the biggest beneficiary was the state on account of the policies that he brought out,’ said state Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
