THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress party member Shashi Tharoor MP said that former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who introduced medical aid and free medical schemes to lakhs of people, did not have money to carry out his own treatment. "AICC was ready to bear his medical expenses, but fearing the huge financial cost in America, he refused treatment and returned."
Shashi Tharoor was inaugurating the Oommen Chandy commemoration - Hridayajnali organized under the auspices of KPCC.
"When Oommen Chandy was asked what was the biggest lesson from his four-time public outreach programme, he said that what Kerala needed was healthcare measures. That's why he came up with several schemes for the healthcare of the people, including the Karunya scheme and cochlear implantation. His desire for health as a right is yet to be fulfilled. Oommen Chandy, who was the people's representative for 19000 days, was never seen alone. The crowd in Oommen Chandy's office was reminiscent of the crowd at a railway station," Shashi Tharoor said.
AICC Secretary PV Mohan, KPCC General Secretary TU Radhakrishnan, Adv Subodhan, Dr George Onakur, Dr N Radhakrishnan, Dr TP Shankarankutty Nair, Dr Mary George, Palayam Imam Suhaib Moulavi, Sunnykutty Abraham, Ramadevi Pothencode, Poornachandran and others spoke. KPCC General Secretary Pazhakulam Madhu, Sarath Chandra Prasad and others participated.