Former Governor of Tamil Nadu and former Chief Minister of the unified State of Andhra Pradesh Konijeti Rosaiah passed away in Hyderabad in the early hours of December 4 after a brief illness.
Family members rushed him to a private hospital after his blood pressure levels went down drastically. He was declared brought dead at the hospital. A statement from the Star Hospitals said that he was brought to the hospital in an unresponsive state and he was passed away at 8.20 am. His last rites are likely to be performed on December 5 in Hyderabad.
Rosaiah, 88 years, was one of the most senior Congress leaders and had served in the Cabinets of several Chief Ministers including K. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Rosaiah had a record in placing the budgets on the floor of Assembly as Finance Minister.
After the sudden death of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2009, Rosaiah, the then Finance Minister, was elevated as Chief Minister before being made the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
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A well-respected politician, he was admired for his wit and simplicity even in the modern era. Born in Guntur district on July 4, 1933, he started his political career as a member of the Legislative Council in 1968. He was later elected as MLA from Chirala constituency. He held various portfolios during his career and was the longest serving Finance Minister presenting the budget 16 times. He was also elected to the Parliament once.
Hailing from Vemuru village near Tenali, Rosaiah worked his way through the Congress party from Youth Congress ranks. He served as Pradesh Congress Committee president twice and as a member of the Congress Working Committee.
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After his term as Governor of Tamil Nadu expired, Rosaiah stayed away from active politics and was residing in Hyderabad.
Condolences pour in
Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his condolences on his death and recalled his services to the combined State. TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy called up Mr. Rosaiah’s son to express his condolences. He described him as a politician worth emulating by the younger generation. Mr. Reddy is rushing to Hyderabad from New Delhi.
AP Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed grief over the demise and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members. All the senior Congress leaders including T. Jayaprakash Reddy, MLA; T. Jeevan Reddy, MLC; K. Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Ponnam Prabhakar, T. Niranjan expressed their condolences.
