HYDERABAD: At 77, veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Sudini Jaipal Reddy passed away at a private hospital here in the early hours of Sunday. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Gachibowli a week ago, where he died at 1.28 am. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. The State government had announced that Jaipal Reddy will be accorded a State funeral on Monday.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor ESL Narasimhan and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao among others, mourned the demise of the Congress leader.
His body will be kept at Gandhi Bhavan on Monday from 10.30 am to 12 noon, for party leaders and workers to pay homage. The last rites would be performed by 1 pm at PV Ghat on Necklace Road.
Jaipal Reddy started his political career as a student leader in Osmania University, and later became a Congress legislator, between 1969 and 1984, from Kalwakurthy in united Andhra Pradesh. He went on to hold key portfolios in various governments. Jaipal Reddy served as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting under the IK Gujral government between 1997 and 1998, as well as under the Manmohan Singh led-United Progressive Alliance (UPA-I) from 2004. He also served as Minister for Urban Development and Petroleum and Natural Gas for both UPA I and II.
He has also played a vital role in the formation of Telangana State. During the Telangana movement, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi depended heavily on Jaipal’s views on the issue. In 1998, he was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. Jaipal Reddy was known as an orator and served as spokesperson for the party.
He also worked as a Chairman of Committee of Privileges during the years 1999-2000, and was a member of the Joint Committee on Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 as well as the Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Power.
TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy shared the news. He wrote, "Deeply saddened & pained by the sudden demise of Shri Jaipal Reddy garu. 4 term MLA, 5 term LS MP, 2 term RS MP, former Union minister- he was one of the greatest sons of Telangana. Principles of secularism & probity in public life were close to his heart. An outstanding orator, Intellectual giant, Great human being. Huge personal loss to me & the entire Congress Party. We will miss him."
The Congress, in a tweet, said it was saddened to hear the passing of Reddy. "We hope his family and friends find strength in their time of grief."
He was a four-term MLA, member of Lok Sabha for five terms and member of Rajya Sabha for two terms.
TRS working president K T Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, also condoled the death.
"My condolences to the family & friends of senior leader & Former union minister Shri #JaipalReddy Garu who passed away earlier today. RIP Sir (sic)," he tweeted.
Reddy was the information and broadcasting minister in IK Gujral government.
In UPA-1, he served as a union minister for Urban Development and also for Petroleum and Natural Gas.
He was the Union Minister for the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology in the UPA-2 between 2012 and 2014.
Reddy's funeral would take place here on Monday, the sources said.
Reddy was born in Nermatta, a village in Chandur Mandal in Nalgonda District in Telangana State but is actually from Maadgula, Mahbubnagar district in Telangana. He was polio-stricken since he was 18 months old, and used crutches to walk.
He has an M.A. from Osmania University.
Reddy was also an agriculturist.
His favourite pastime was reading and he had visited many countries.
He married Lakshmi on 7 May 1960. The couple have two sons and one daughter.
(With PTI inputs)