Rosaiah's demise a huge loss for Congress: Revanth

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy said the demise of former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh K. Rosaiah is a huge loss for the Congress party.

Revanth, who was in New Delhi, rushed to Hyderabad on learning about the death of Dr. Rosaiah. He directly went to Rosaiah's residence in Ameerpet and consoled the family members. Along with other senior leaders, he also laid the Congress party's flag on Rosaiah's body.

Revanth said Rosaiah had a long, flawless, and non-controversial career in his nearly 50 years in politics. He was elected to both Legislative Assembly and Council and had the privilege of being part of the Cabinets of four Chief Ministers of undivided Andhra Pradesh. He was apparently the only finance minister in the country who presented 16 annual budgets for a state. Rosaiah also served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

"I had known Dr. Rosaiah ever since I joined politics. When I was nominated as MLC in 2007, Rosaiah garu called me and wished me a bright future in politics. He advised me to gain knowledge and expertise on various subjects," Revanth said.

He recalled his meeting with Dr. Rosaiah after his nomination as the TPCC president. "He was not an ordinary politician. He was a man of great stature who strongly believed in participatory democracy. He never hesitated to give suggestions or take some in resolving people's issues. He was fit for almost every post although he had a deep understanding and knowledge about finance," he said.

Revanth said it was Dr. Rosaiah who, as the then finance minister, had made huge allocations for the Jalayagnam projects which revolutionized the agriculture sector in undivided AP, especially in the Telangana region. The irrigation facilities in Kodangal and Narayanapet were developed from the funds allocated by Dr. Rosaiah.

Later in the day, the TPCC president, along with other senior leaders, held a brief meeting at Gandhi Bhavan wherein rich floral tributes were paid to Dr. Rosaiah.

The TPCC president said the mortal remains of Dr. Rosaiah would be kept at Gandhi Bhavan from 10.30 a.m on Sunday (5 December) to allow Congress workers and other people to pay their last respects. Stating that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had spoken to the family members of Dr. Rosaiah to convey their condolences, he said a delegation of All India Congress Committee (AICC) would attend the funeral on Sunday.

Revanth demanded that the state government set up a memorial in Hyderabad in honour of Dr. Rosaiah. The contribution, services, teachings, ideals and morals of Dr. Rosaiah will be remembered forever, he said.