KOCHI: Thousands of people queued up at the Ernakulam Town Hall on Monday to pay homage to Food and Civil Supplies Minister T M Jacob who passed away on Sunday night. The body of the Kerala Congress leader was brought to the Town Hall by 10.50 am from Lakeshore Hospital. The body was accompanied by Jacob’s wife Daisy Jacob, children Anoop Jacob and Ambili Jacob along with Finance Minister K M Mani, Excise Minister K Babu and Benny Behanan MLA. Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church head Baselious Thomas I performed religious rites and prayers at the hospital in the morning before the body was shifted to the Town Hall.Thousands of people from all walks of life came in droves to pay homage to Jacob and a sense of melancholy filled the Town Hall where his body lay in state. KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala reached the Town Hall at 12.45 pm to pay his last respects to the departed. He was accompanied by a team of UDF MLAs. CPM secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and former finance minister Thomas Isaac also paid their homage to Jacob at the Town Hall.Those who reached the Town Hall included Union Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed, Education Minister P K Abdurab, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John and Cooperation Minister C N Balakrishnan. Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany, Dominic Presentation MLA, former ministers N Premachandran and M Vijayakumar and K P Dhanapalan MP also paid their homage to the departed leader. Actors Mammootty, Sidhique and Janardhanan also paid their tributes.District Collector Sheikh Pareeth representing the district administration, AMMA secretary Idavela Babu and Producers Association secretary Sabu Cheriyan also laid wreaths on the body.The procession was originally scheduled to arrive at the Town Hall by 9 am, but it arrived only by 10 45 am. District panchayat president Eldose Kunnappilly, Deputy Mayor B Bhadra and prominent personalities representing industries and the merchant community were present to pay their last respects to Jacob.The 61-year-old Kerala Congress leader’s body was kept at the Town Hall till 2.15 pm before being taken to St Joseph High School at his home town Piravom. The funeral will be held on Tuesday at the Kakoor St Mary’s Jacobite church.A Father Figure for Budding LegislatorsBudding MLAs remember what late T M Jacob had said when they entered the Legislative Assembly for the first time this year. He had said: “You have a lot to learn if you want to grow in your political career.”For the first time MLAs, Jacob was a father figure who could teach them all they needed to learn. “You knew that you could approach him any time with the most basic doubts and he would be there for you,” said MLA Anwar Sadath. MLA Hibi Eden recalls how it was interesting to learn from Jacob because he was a man of substance with an opinion about every thing. “His capacity as an administrator could be seen in his involvement in every sector,” Eden said.Experienced MLAs remember the late minister not only for his late night calls and advices for young politicians but also for his ability as an administrator.
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