Kottayam: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Cochin International Airport on Thursday for attending the funeral of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at Puthuppally. 

The funeral of Chandy, two-time chief minister of Kerala and an AICC general secretary, will take place at his parish church in Puthuppally, his hometown, on Thursday. 

The funeral procession which began from Thiruvananthapuram at 7 am on Wednesday is yet to reach Puthupally.

His body will be kept for public viewing at the Thirunakkara Maidanam in Kottayam. The funeral would be held at 3.30 pm in St George Orthodox Church in Puthupally on Thursday.

Chandy, 79, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4:25 am on Tuesday. He died battling cancer while undergoing treatment.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, top party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi along with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, paid homage to Chandy at former Karnataka minister late T John's residence in Indiranagar. In his condolences message, Rahul hailed Chandy as an exemplary grassroots Congress leader.