All educational institutions and government offices have been closed today due to the passing away of former chief minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy. He was 79. The state government has announced 2 days of state mourning. The death of the former Kerala chief minister was announced by his son, Chandy Oommen, in a Facebook post. "Appa has passed away", Oommen wrote on his Facebook page, without elaborating. Chandy served as Kerala CM twice - in 2004 and 2011. Chandy, who had not been keeping well for quite some time, had been staying in Bengaluru for treatment at a health facility. "A public holiday and two days of official mourning have been declared today (July 18) in the state following the death of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy," the state government in a tweet said. Expressing grief over the death, Member of Parliament (MP) Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said: “In grief today at the loss of this dynamic, energetic people’s representative. Little did I realise this would be one of my last public engagements with him.” “Extremely sad to bid farewell to our most beloved leader and former CM Shri. Oommen Chandy. One of the most popular and dynamic leaders of Kerala, Chandy sir was loved across generations and sections of the population. The Congress family will miss his leadership and energy,” Kerala Congress said.