Kochi: Tears, screams, scuffles and furious sloganeering filled the air as a daughter claimed the right to her father's dead body, while her brother insisted he was honoring their father's last wish.

Dramatic scenes unfolded at Ernakulam Town Hall, where the mortal remains of late CPM leader MM Lawrence were exhibited for public viewing. Tensions escalated when Asha Lawrence, the daughter of MM Lawrence, and her son stood firm near the body, declaring they would not allow anyone to take it away. With CPM leaders and workers stepping in to take control of the situation, things have gone awry, as Asha and her son were forcibly moved out from the hall. 

During the scuffle, Asha fell, and her son alleged that party workers had assaulted him. After Asha and her son were taken out with the assistance of police, MM Lawrence's body was transported to Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam, where it would be kept in the mortuary.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has asked the Medical College to make an appropriate decision regarding the controversy. Asha had filed a petition claiming that her father’s body should not be given to the Medical College for study purposes, asserting that her father had never expressed such a wish to her. She argued that this decision was pushed by party workers and some relatives, including her brother, ML Sajeevan.

The High Court has instructed the Medical College authorities to act in accordance with the Anatomy Act. Until a final decision is reached, MM Lawrence’s remains will remain in the mortuary of Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam.

“The final farewell of my father is being marred by foul play. His last journey should have been conducted in a religious manner. The last rites for my father’s father, who was a greater atheist than my father, were performed according to Christian funeral rites,” said Asha Lawrence.

ML Sajeevan, son of Lawrence, asserted that the decision to hand over the body to the Medical College aligned with their father’s wishes. “Asha is unnecessarily creating controversy with support from BJP and RSS. The presence of RSS-BJP leaders can be identified from Asha's Facebook posts. This is being deliberately orchestrated to humiliate CPM and its leaders in public,” he stated.

MM Lawrence, 95, one of the prominent leaders of CPM in Ernakulam, passed away on Saturday afternoon due to age-related ailments, having been treated for pneumonia.