Rahul Gandhi attends funeral of Congress leader Venkataswamy

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today paid homage to senior party leader and former Union Minister G Venkataswamy who passed away here following prolong illness.
Gandhi, accompanied by AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, visited the crematorium at Punjagutta here where the mortal remains of the departed soul were consigned to flames.
Gandhi offered tributes to Venkataswamy and spoke briefly with his sons G Vinod (a former minister) and G Vivek (former MP).
Vinod lit the funeral pyre and the funeral with state honours from the Telangana government.
Former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, Telangana Congress president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, senior MLA and former minister J Geeta Reddy and a number of Congress leaders and workers were present on the occasion.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao paid homage to Venkataswamy earlier in the day.

Venkataswamy (85), who had been keeping unwell for the last couple of years, breathed his last yesterday at a private hospital here.
In a career spanning about five decades, Venkataswamy served as a parliamentarian for seven terms, the last being in 2004.
In his long political career, he held various positions including Union Minister (in the government of P V Narasimha Rao), minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh, MLA and PCC president.