Veteran Congress Leader K P Viswanathan Dead

Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Minister K P Viswanathan died at a private hospital in Thrissur on Friday while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments, party sources said.

He was 83. During his six-decade-long political career, Viswanathan represented Kunnamkulam and Kodakara seats in the State Assembly as a Congress member. He entered politics through the Youth Congress and served as president of Thrissur district Youth Congress from 1967 to 1970.

He became an active member of KPCC since 1972. Viswanathan was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 1977 and 1980 from Kunnamkulam constituency and subsequently in 1987, 1991, 1996, and 2001 from Kodakara segment.

He served as Minister for Forest from July 1991 to November 1994 in the ministry headed by K Karunakaran and from September 2004 to February 2005 in the ministry headed by Oommen Chandy. Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer condoled Viswanathan's demise.