HYDERABAD: Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao wanted the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya through a non-political trust that could be acceptable to all Hindus. He even got a master plan prepared. The man who made this disclosure a few years ago, PVRK Prasad, media advisor and Additional Secretary to PV, passed away in Hyderabad in the early hours of Monday.Prasad, who suffered a heart attack on Friday late night, was admitted to a hospital in Banjara Hills, where he breathed his last at around 2 a.m. on Monday. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. His last rites were performed on Monday.
An IAS officer of AP cadre, Prasad served the then united AP and the Centre in various capacities such as collector of Khammam, private secretary to CM, chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, media advisor and additional secretary to PM. Prasad had also served as Executive Officer (EO) of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the country’s richest temple, between 1978-82 and was instrumental in initiating a number of developmental activities there. He brought about many reforms in the functioning of TTD during his tenure. Because of this, he is still considered as the most popular EO till date. He remained as the honorary advisor to the TTD board till his death.
After his retirement, Prasad wrote a book — Asalu Emi Jarigindante (What Actually Happened) on his tenure as media advisor to the then PM P V Narasimha Rao (1991 to 1996). The book disclosed several developments leading to demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. In the book, published in 2010, Prasad claimed that the then PM Rao himself had planned to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya to avoid further controversies. According to Prasad, Rao, had believed this could be done by an apolitical trust. Rao had prepared the master plan. However, as Congress lost the 1996 elections, the project was shelved. Later, the book was translated into English with the title, ‘Wheels Behind the Veil (CMs, PMs and beyond)’.
Prasad excelled in his profession wherever he was posted and won accolades for his acumen and professional competence. For example, when he was chairman of Visakhapatanam Port Trust, he made many contributions to the development of the port city of Vizag. He helped construct the port stadium and develop its infrastructure.Born to a school teacher in a middle class Brahmin family, Prasad was selected to IAS in 1966 after completing MA in English Literature and LLB from Nagpur University. He later held a PG diploma in Development Administration from the University of Cambridge, UK.
Governor ESL Narasimhan, TS Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, AP CM N Chandra Babu Naidu and several others condoled the death of this distinguished IAS officer. The TS IAS officers Institute expressed grief and and in a statement its president BP Acharya recalled the exemplary services rendered by Prasad in TS. Post-retirement, Prasad was involved in spreading spirituality in his capacity as chairman of Hindu Dharma Parirakshana Trust. He authored several books on spiritual issues in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English. He was wrote a book on his experiences with Lord Venkateswara titled “Naaham Karta- Harihi Karta.’’