India mourns YSR's untimely death

Wednesday, September 09, 2009 12:43:36 PM, Agencies

New Delhi/Hyderabad: In a state of shock, India mourns the untimely death of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhera Reddy who died in a chopper crash with four others.

Describing the incident as one of the saddest moment in his life, Andhra Pradesh Governor N.D. Tewari said, "It would take me some time to recover from it."

The Congress party too expressed shock over YSR's untimely death and termed it as an irreparable loss for the party. Reacting to his tragic death in a chopper crash, the Congress said Reddy was "utterly" devoted to the party, to the state of Andhra Pradesh and to the country and his loss will be felt "very deeply".

"He was such a dynamic CM, dynamic human being and a man of the people, something that will take us very long to come to terms with," party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said.

She said it was tragic that he died while actually engaged in the active implementation of his "important schemes".

Reddy had recently led the Congress to a historic victory in the Parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Stating that YSR was a very hands on chief minister, Senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said, "He did not hesitate to work hard, fight hard for issues dear to him. It is really very difficult to talk about him in the past tense.”

United States Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer also offered condolences to India on the loss of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy and the four other victims of a tragic September 2 helicopter accident. 

“The Chief Minister was a strong supporter of U.S-India friendship and our bilateral partnership, visible in the strong economic and family ties between the people of Andhra Pradesh and the United States,” Ambassador Roemer said.

The overall sentiment was that he was a man who focused very keenly on development-related issues and achieved many of his objectives. Not only people within his own party respected him, but also by the opposition. He was a very tall leader in Andhra Pradesh politics.

Cutting across the party lines leaders from the opposition parties too are expressing grief and offering condolence.

Terming the late Andhra leader as a ''son of the soil'', BJP president Rajnath Singh described his death as shocking and added that the tragedy has left a huge void in state and national politics, a loss that is irreparable. The party has decided to keep the party flag at  half mast at its Delhi Headquaters.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Yerran Naidu said, "We are shocked by YSR’s death."

Asaduddin Owaisi, the sitting MP from Hyderabad and president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), described Reddy as a down to earth man, a person with a great temperament, a man of the masses.

Stating that he appreciated the good work done by YSR Asaduddin Owaisi said, "He was the first chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to do a lot of work for Muslims in the state."

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