PUTHUPPALLY: In an effort to douse the ongoing controversy, Minister MB Rajesh said that the newly constructed mini-civil station in Puthupally will be named after former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Controversy arose over naming the renovated community hall in Puthuppally after veteran CPM leader EMS Namboodiripad.

The minister revealed the news at the ceremony where the name of EMS was announced for the community hall. UDF went on a fast to demand that the community hall be named after Oommen Chandy. The controversy started when the LDF governing body of the renovated Puthupally Panchayat community hall near the Puthupally intersection decided to name it after EMS.

The community hall, unused during the UDF rule, was made available for weddings, and gatherings after the Left government came to power. The road nearby was tarred and the pathway walled.

Minister in his address revealed about a senior leader advising him to stay away from the function, but he decided otherwise only to let people know about the fact.

“We tried to contact Chandy Oommen to let him know about the government decision about naming the new civil station after his father, but he couldn’t be reached,” said MB Rajesh.

The EMS memorial hall at Puthuppally and the civil station being built in the name of Oommen Chandy will be testimonials of Kerala’s political coherence. The minister also expressed his wish to inaugurate the civil station named after Congress veteran Oommen Chandy.