Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday 5 July 2009: Veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran turned 91 on Sunday.

The four-time Kerala chief minister, who has been through ups and downs in politics since the days of freedom struggle, was greeted on the occasion by his supporters and well-wishers, whom he received by offering sweets.

A media-friendly leader, Karunakaran did not disappoint journalists either, who called on him at his residence here.

Last month, Karunakaran had celebrated his birthday according to the Malayalam calendar. Kannoth Karunakaran was born on July 5, 1918 at Chirakkal in Kannur district.

At a young age he volunteered himself as a freedom fighter and was imprisoned during the Quit India movement. Later, he moved to Thrissur in central Kerala, which had been his political turf for decades.

A major power centre of the Congress in the state for long, he also served as union minister briefly in the P V Narasimha Rao government.