Modi, Sonia pay tributes

The body will be flown to Hyderabad late on Friday night. Palvai’s last rites will be performed in Iruguda of Nalgonda on Saturday evening.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from TS Palvai Govardhan Reddy died early on Friday after suffering a massive heart attack while he was in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. He was 80.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled the sad demise of the Congress leader.

“Saddened by the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Shri Palvai Govardhan Reddy. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and supporters,” the PM Modi tweeted.

Mrs Gandhi issued a statement saying “Shri Reddy committed his life to the people and Congress party at a young age and leaves behind an admirable legacy. His death is an irreparable loss to the nation and the party.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that Govardhan Reddy had “richly contributed to the proceedings both in the Legislative Assembly and in Parliament.”

He was five time MLA from undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Top political leaders came to pay their last respect.

The leaders who came to his residence at 2, GRG Marg, included AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, senior Congress leaders N.D. Tiwari, Digvijay Singh, M.A. Khan, K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, A.K. Antony and TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, among others.

CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy and party national secretary D. Raja were also there.

The body will be flown to Hyderabad late on Friday night. He will be cremated on Saturday.

It was learnt that the Congress MP who was with his wife was on his way to Kullu to attend a Parliamentary committee meeting when he suffered a heart attack.

He was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared brought dead.