KURNOOL: People of Nandyal have expressed their joy as their former MP PV Narasimha Rao, who went on to become the Prime Minister, has been conferred with Bharat Ratna posthumously.
PV contested from Nandyal in a byelection after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Gangula Pratap Reddy had resigned from his MP seat to enable PV to contest the by-election. He won the byelection with a record margin of 5 lakh votes and his victory entered the Guinness World Records in 1991.
Pratap Reddy, who sacrificed his seat, told TNIE that he was elated over the conferment of Bharat Ratna on PV posthumously. “Not only me, all the people of Nandyal have felt proud as PV has been conferred with the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. In my opinion, this award is for the people of Nandyal, who gave their massive mandate to make PV the Prime Minister in 1991,’’ Pratap Reddy said.
As the Prime Minister, PV visited Nandyal on a couple of occasions during his tenure. As an MP, PV laid emphasis on development of Nandyal constituency. The people of Nandyal are still remembering his contribution to the development of the constituency. The flyover in Nandyal town, which is popular as Noonepalle flyover bridge, was constructed during the tenure of PV, recalled Nandyal District Congress Committee president J Lakshmi Narasimha Yadav.
PV also made efforts for the construction of Yerraguntla railway line project. “We hail Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to duly honour the former Prime Minister by conferring Bharat Ratna on PV posthumously. It is a proud moment for the Telugu speaking people,’’ the DCC president said.