Veteran Cong leader Jaipal Reddy passes away
Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and former Union minister S Jaipal Reddy, who was known for his oratorical skills and carved a place for himself in Parliament and state assembly, died at a hospital here on Sunday.
The 77-year-old was recently diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital, where he died at 1.28 am, a Congress leader said.
Reddy's limited physical mobility due to polio never deterred him from achieving political heights and he served as a Lok Sabha MP for five terms, as a member of Rajya Sabha for two terms and was a four-term MLA.
He had agitated against the imposition of Emergency and came out of the party. After coming out of the Congress, he joined the Janata party and contested against Indira Gandhi in Medak Lok Sabha constituency in 1980. He later joined its splinter group, Janata Dal.
Besides earning him accolades, his exceptional oratorical skills and articulation made him the spokesperson for the United Front and National Front governments and the Congress Party.
Reddy was a staunch supporter of separate statehood for Telangana. Congress leaders recalled that he played a crucial role in convincing the UPA-II government and the AICC President Sonia Gandhi to grant separate statehood to Telangana.
A parliamentarian for several decades, he held key portfolios in various governments. He was conferred the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1998.
He was a member of the Andhra Pradesh (undivided) Legislative Assembly from 1969 to 1984.
He served as Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the IK Gujral government and was allotted different portfolios in the Manmohan Singh government. In UPA-2, he was assigned the urban development ministry.
Later, he became the minister of petroleum and natural gas but was shifted to the science and technology and earth sciences ministries, triggering a political storm.
It was widely speculated that Jaipal Reddy was shunted out of the petroleum ministry owing to the notices issued to certain oil and gas companies on production issues.
Congress Lok Sabha member Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said the last rites of Jaipal Reddy will take place on Monday.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu condoled the demise of the Congress leader.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences over the passing away of Jaipal Reddy.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart YS Jagan Mohan Reddy condoled the death of senior Congress leader.
Top Congress leaders also condoled the demise of Reddy, with Rahul Gandhi describing him as a distinguished parliamentarian and the son of Telangana. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh said Reddy was a treasure of wisdom and knowledge. With PTI inputs
