Hyderabad, Sep 5 (Inditop.com) It was late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s best friend who broke the news of his death to the leader’s shocked family.
It was left to K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, a long time associate of YSR, as the chief minister was popularly known, to tell the family that the chief minister had perished in the helicopter crash Wednesday.
YSR and Rao, or KVP, studied together in Gulbarga Medical College and their friendship continued till YSR’s death.
When YSR’s chopper went missing Wednesday, Rao was the first to rush to the chief minister’s office at the secretariat. The next day when he was informed of YSR’s death, he collapsed on a sofa in secretariat.
After some time he gathered courage and left for the chief minister’s camp office to console YSR’s family members. He stood by the body of his friend with YSR’s son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
KVP always stood by his friend, working as his advisor on key issues. After YSR became chief minister in 2004, KVP started playing a key role as advisor to the government on public affairs.
YSR used to rely on KVP’s advise on matters like appointments and transfers of bureaucrats and even giving key posts to the Congress party leaders. Last year KVP was nominated to Rajya Sabha by the party’s central leadership on the recommendation of YSR.
“It is difficult to imagine one without the other. If I am the body, he is my soul,” YSR had once said about KVP.
“YSR is the sun and I am only a satellite. The light around me will be there till he is there,” KVP had remarked.
Though shaken by the tragedy, KVP never broke down for a moment as a stream of mourners passed by him. It was he who persuaded Jaganmohan Reddy to come before the camera to make an appeal to people to be calm and not commit suicide.
However KVP did break down. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders went inside to console YSR’s wife and children, he lost control of himself, kept his head on the casket and stood for 10 minutes in that position, bringing tears to the eyes of those present there.
rounak