Kerala Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan passes away

Veteran Congress leader and Kerala Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan, who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru for liver related ailments, passed away this morning. The end came at 9.30 AM, his office sources here said. He was 66 and leaves behind his wife and two sons.

Condoling his death, senior party leader and former Defence Minister AK Antony said Karthikeyan's passing away was a big loss for the party and the state.

"We never imagined even in our dreams that he would leave us so early in life after succumbing to such a serious ailment," he told reporters at Kochi.

Karthikeyan, who was suffering from liver cancer, had been taken to the US for treatment last year after which he was shifted to the hospital in Bengaluru.