Mangaluru: Amid the pouring in of condolences grieving the death of the former Higher Education Minister B.A. Moideen, authors of his autobiography, “Nannolagina Naanu” (Me within Me), have said that the book will be released as scheduled here on July 20.

Moideen’s mortal remains were brought to Mangaluru by afternoon and taken to his home at Bajpe where hundreds of his admirers and well-wishers bid farewell to the leader.

Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, Minister U.T. Khader, MLC Ivan D’Souza and other dignitaries paid their last respects by placing a wreath on the body.

After State honours, the body was taken to the Bajpe masjid where the funeral was performed.

B.A. Muhammad Ali, one of the two authors of the autobiography, told The Hindu that the book release would be preceded by paying tributes to the leader. Besides the invited dignitaries, Mr. Khader and others, Mr. Ramesh Kumar and the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are likely to attend the event, he said.

Meanwhile, several organisations and individuals condoled the death of Moideen. Mr. Khader in a statement termed the former Minister as the tall leader from the region who was a close friend of his father, late U.T. Farid. Moideen was bestowed with foresightedness and was a good administrator, he said.

The Association of Mangalore University College Teachers (AMUCT) remembered Moideen as a benevolent administrator who had compassion and love for the teaching community. It was during his tenure as Higher Education Minister the UGC scales of 1986 were implemented in the State, the statement said.

The former Minister had strongly argued in favour of teachers saying that they, in fact, should be paid more, during a legislative debate on 15 % salary cut, AMUCT said. Dakshina Kannada District Wakf Advisory Board president U.K. Monu Kanachur in a statement said that with Moideen’s death, the State has lost a statesman and the Muslim community a tall leader.

Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy president Karambar Mohammed, condoling Moideen’s death, said that he had worked hard for the social and economic uplift of the Beary community, besides being an able and honest administrator. He had also strived for the establishment of the academy.

Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) said that Moideen was responsible for an education revolution among minority communities in Dakshina Kannada during his tenure as Minister. His contributions to the district as in-charge Minister are immense, DYFI District secretary Santosh Bajal said in a statement.