Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Telangana Palvai Govardhan Reddy died today after suffering a cardiac arrest near Kullu in Himachal Pradesh.
He was 80.
Family sources said Reddy, who was accompanied by his wife, was to have attended a Parliamentary Committee meeting in Kullu when he suffered a cardiac arrest at the Bhuntar airport on the outskirts of the Himachal town.
He was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared brought dead.
He had taken an early morning flight to Kullu from Delhi.
A five-time MLA in Andhra Pradesh before the bifurcation of the state, Reddy, elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012, was a member of several committees.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Reddy's body was brought from Kullu to Delhi. A large number of leaders -- among them Vice President M Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party vice president Rahul Gandhi -- paid homage to him at his Delhi residence.
His body was later taken to Hyderabad.
The cremation will take place at his hometown, Idikuda, in Nalgonda district tomorrow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, condoled his death.
"Saddened by the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Shri Palvai Govardhan Reddy. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and supporters," Modi tweeted.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi remembered him as a respected leader. She said Reddy committed his life to the people and the Congress Party at a young age and left behind an "admirable" legacy.
"His death is an irreparable loss to the nation and the party," she said in a statement. She expressed solidarity with his family and "prayed for peace of the departed soul".
Rahul Gandhi also tweeted, "P Govardhan Reddyji's untimely demise is a big loss for Congress - a 5-time MLA and Rajya Sabha MP he was at the forefront of Telangana movement. My condolences."
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed sorrow.
"He was a seasoned parliamentarian and richly contributed to the proceedings, both in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament.In his death, the Congress has lost a great parliamentarian and a leader," he said.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the death and conveyed his condolences to members of the bereaved family.
The chief minister spoke to TRS MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, who was with Govardhan Reddy for the Parliamentary standing committee meeting, to know the details of the incident.
"The chief minister has instructed Chief Secretary S P Singh and Delhi Resident Commissioner Arvind Kumar to arrange a chartered flight to bring the mortal remains of Govardhan Reddy to Hyderabad," the CM's office said.
Several leaders cutting across party lines expressed grief over Reddy's death.
CPI's Telangana state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said the Congress had lost an able leader.
BJP state president K Laxman said Reddy was active in the Telangana movement and his death was a loss to the state.
Congress's Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the leader of the opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council, said Reddy was a seasoned parliamentarian.
Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao said he had lost "a very good friend", while the party's Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Anand Bhaskar said Reddy was like a "link between Pandit Nehru's generation and the youth of the country".
"His demise is a loss to me, the Congress and Telangana," Bhaskar said.
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