Tributes paid to former PM Narasimha Rao on birth anniversary

Leaders from Telangana Friday paid tribute to former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao on his 98th birth anniversary.

Former Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, BJP Telangana unit president K Laxman, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and others visited 'P V Gyan Bhoomi', samadhi of the former Prime Minister at Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake here, sources said.

The Telangana government organised the birth anniversary celebrations at 'Gyan Bhoomi.

An all-religious prayer was held on the occasion, they said.

Paying tributes to the late leader, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said in a message that Narasimha Rao left an indelible mark on the nation's progress and development by introducing economic reforms.

Union Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, paid his respects to Rao and described him as a proud son of Telangana.

Reddy said in a message that Rao was an exemplary statesman, scholar, polyglot and an academic whose erudition inspired respect across party lines.

State Congress vice-president and former MP Mallu Ravi and other party leaders garlanded the portrait of Narasimha Rao at Gandhi Bhavan here, Congress headquarters in Telangana, and recalled his services to the nation, party sources said.

AICC secretary G Chinna Reddy triggered a row two days ago by alleging that Narasimha Rao had during his tenure tried to sideline the Nehru-Gandhi family though it was former Congress president Sonia Gandhi who made him the Prime Minister.

Chinna Reddy issued a clarification on Thursday saying he did not mean to insult the late Prime Minister and that he had great respect for him.

Rao had served as Prime Minister from June 21, 1991 to May 16, 1996.