Congress leader and former minister P Ramachandra Reddy breathed his last this morning at his residence in Hyderabad.
He was 89, and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Reddy worked as the Speaker and as a minister during the Marri Channa Reddy and Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy governments. His family members said that he had slipped in his bathroom two days back, and died while undergoing treatment in a hospital.
Reddy was born in Marepally village in Kondapur mandal of Sangareddy district. He was a lawyer by profession, and contested elections in 1962 and got elected to the AP Assembly. He was elected to the Assembly again in 1971, 1983, 1985 and 1989. He worked hard to strengthen the Panchayat Raj system. He also earned praises for taking up several reforms as the Speaker of the Assembly.
Governor E S L Narasimhan expressed shock over the sudden demise of Reddy, and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family. CM K Chandrashekar Rao, too, expressed his grief, and recalled his long association with the departed leader. The CM said that Reddy was known all over the country as one of the first generation political leaders, who had worked for strengthening the Panchayat Raj institutions. He instructed the Chief Secretary S K Joshi to organize an official funeral for Reddy's mortal remains.
TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, too, expressed shock at the demise of Reddy, and extended sympathies to his family members.