Hyderabad Former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh and veteran Congress leader Konijeti Rosaiah passed away following a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning. He was 88.
According to his family, Rosaiah was rushed to Star Hospitals in Banjara Hills after his blood pressure dropped in the morning. He was declared brought dead by doctors.
A statement from the hospital said that the former chief minister was brought in an unresponsive state and was declared dead at 8.20 am
Born on July 4, 1933 at Vemuru village of Guntur district, Rosaiah began his association with politics as a student union leader during his graduation at Hindu College in Guntur district. He remained in active politics for more than six decades.
A follower of Swatantra Party leader N G Ranga, Rosaiah joined the Congress. He was elected member of state legislative council in 1968, 1974, 1980 and 2009. He was elected as an MLA twice in 1989 and 2004 from Chirala assembly constituency in Prakasam district. He also served as an MP from Narsaraopet parliamentary constituency in 1998.
Rosaiah worked as a minister in various cabinets of the Congress governments in the state, right from Marri Channa Reddy in 1978 to Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in 2004-09. While he held several important portfolios, he was popular as finance minister during the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy regime.
{{/usCountry}}Rosaiah worked as a minister in various cabinets of the Congress governments in the state, right from Marri Channa Reddy in 1978 to Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in 2004-09. While he held several important portfolios, he was popular as finance minister during the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy regime.
{{/usCountry}}After YSR’s death in a helicopter crash on September 2, 2009, Rosaiah took over as chief minister and continued in the post till November 4, 2010, when he was replaced by N Kiran Kumar Reddy.
It was during this period that the movement for a separate state had reached its peak and the UPA government announced the commencement of the process of Telangana state formation.
On August 31, 2011, Rosaiah was sworn in as Governor of Tamil Nadu and he continued in the post till August 30, 2016. For a brief period between July and September 2014, Rosaiah also served as acting Governor of Karnataka.
After completing his term as governor, Rosaiah kept away from active politics and occasionally attended functions.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana PCC chief A Revanth Reddy and several other leaders expressed condolences over the sudden demise of Rosaiah.
Rosaiah is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.