Vijayawada: Friends and locals in Palnadu refuse to believe that former speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao would have take his own life. His followers called Rao Palnati Puli (the tiger of Palnati) for his aggression. They said he was not a coward and would not commit suicide as he had bravely faced many crises in his life.
Fans, followers and sympathisers from his native village Kandlagunta in Nekarikallu mandal and Narasraopeta, Chilakluri-peta and Sattenapalli constituencies, rushed to his house in Narasaraopeta when they heard news of his death.
They recalled his 36 years of service to the public and his dedication to developing the Assem-bly constituencies from where he was elected.
Mr Kondrakunta Gopi and Mr V. Venkateswarlu and others recalled that Rao was a braveheart and aggressive, never flinching from a political war with rivals.
They said he withstood the pressure of a CBI inquiry when bombs went off in his hospital, and secured a clean chit. They said he had never been disappointed when he was defeated in elections.
He developed Kotappa-konda into a hill pilgrimage centre, constructed toilets for every house, creating a new record, and developed other basic amenities, they recalled.
He had fought with police officials during the Congress government without fear. They said they could not believe he had committed suicide as he was not a coward but a braveheart.
Former minister N. Ananda Babu lamented that the suicide “due to reve-nge politics is very sad”.
Former minister Yana-mala Ramakrishnudu said that Palnadu had lost its “warrior” who relentlessly served the region.
