VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Industries and Information Technology Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy (50) died of a cardiac arrest at his Jubilee Hills residence in Hyderabad on Monday morning. He is survived by his wife Srikeerthi, son Krishna Arjun Reddy and daughter Sai Ananya.
The State government announced two-day mourning and the last rites of Goutham Reddy will be held with full State honours at his native town Udayagiri in Nellore district on Wednesday.
The untimely death of the young minister, who was a fitness freak and a regular to gym, shocked the political circles in the State. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy flew to Hyderabad and consoled Goutham Reddy’s family members. Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao and a host of ministers, MPs and MLAs from the two Telugu States were among those who paid their homage to the departed leader.
Goutham Reddy was the son of former MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, a noted industrialist and YSRC leader. He entered political fray in the 2014 elections and won from Atmakur Assembly constituency on YSRC ticket.
He won from the same constituency for the second time in 2019 and became a minister in Jagan’s cabinet. He was allocated five portfolios, including Industries, Information Technology, Commerce, Skill Development and Training and Textiles.
He returned to Hyderabad on Saturday night after his 10-day tour of Dubai. The AP Industries Department set up a stall in Dubai Expo to attract investments to the State. The Industries Department has attracted investments worth more than Rs 5,000 crore by signing five MoUs with Dubai and Abu Dhabi companies.
According to sources, the minister retired to bed around 9.45 pm on Sunday after attending a function of his relatives in Hyderabad.
He woke up at 6 am on Monday as usual and spent some time talking to YSRC leaders over the phone till 6.30 am. Around 7 am, he felt uncomfortable while sitting on a sofa on the second floor. He asked the cook to call his driver Nageswara Rao around 7.12 am. Goutham Reddy fell on the sofa around 7.15 am and his wife Srikeerthi cried for help on seeing him. “I reached the second floor by 7.18 am and pressed hard on his heart with hands and he seemed to have recovered,’’ Nageswara Rao said.
After two minutes, Goutham Reddy asked for water, but he was not able to drink. Immediately, Srikeerthi called his personal staff. “It was around 7.22 am when Goutham Reddy told his wife that he was feeling pain in the chest and the staff shifted him to Apollo Hospitals. We reached the hospital within minutes,’’ the driver said. The medical bulletin released by Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, stated that Goutham Reddy arrived at the hospital emergency room at 7.45 am.
“He was unresponsive, not breathing and in cardiac arrest on arrival. He received immediate CPR and advanced cardiac life support in our emergency department. The emergency medical team and specialists, including cardiologists and critical care doctors, have attended to him,’’ the hospital said. Though CPR was done for more than 90 minutes, the doctors could not revive Goutham Reddy and he was declared dead at 9:16 am.
Jagan, along with his wife Bharathi, went to the residence of Goutham Reddy and paid their last respects to the departed minister. Jagan consoled Rajamohan Reddy and other family members.
Earlier at a meeting with officials at his camp office in Tadepalli, he recalled his association with Goutham Reddy. “I was well acquainted with him since childhood and it was a great void to lose a good friend and a great leader,’’ he said.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu described Goutham Reddy as a soft-natured person and one who was committed to the cause. Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed shock and sadness.
“ I pray for rest to his soul and offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.”Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said the mortal remains of Goutham Reddy will be airlifted to Nellore from Hyderabad and will be kept in the police parade grounds for the public to pay their last respects to the departed leader.
Later, the mortal remains will be shifted to his native town Udayagiri, where the funeral will be held.
Goutham Reddy, who was born on November 2, 1971, completed his schooling from Good Shepherd Public School in Ooty and graduated from Badruka College in Hyderabad.
He did his Masters at Manchester, UK, with specialisation in textiles. He joined the family business in 1997 till he entered politics in 2014, responding to a call of YSRC chief Jagan.
He returned to Hyderabad from Dubai Expo
Goutham Reddy returned to Hyderabad on Saturday night after his 10-day tour of Dubai. The AP Industries Department set up a stall in the Dubai Expo to attract investments to the State. The AP government signed MoUs with five companies at the expo, which will attract a total investment of over Rs 5,000 crore
‘Strove hard for AP’
TDP chief Naidu said Goutham Reddy was a thorough gentleman who never indulged in political criticism and strove hard for the industrial growth of AP. Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao said he had an association with Goutham Reddy for more than a decade and both used to share their ideas.