Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samiti MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy died of cardiac arrest after a prolonged illness at a private hospital in Hyderabad early on nThursday. He was 57 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
He represented Dubbaka in Siddipet district in the Assembly. The four-time MLA played an active role in the separate Telangana movement after joining the party in 2001. He was a journalist before he joined politics.
Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao went to Chittapur, the native village of Ramalinga Reddy, to offer his condolences to the bereaved family. He broke down upon seeing the body of the legislator. Chandrashekar Rao recalled his association with the legislator during the Telangana agitation. The two have been associated for 35 years.
TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said he was deeply disturbed by Ramalinga Reddy’s death and conveyed his condolences to the family members.
Finance minister T. Harish Rao said Ramalinga Reddy was a people’s man, who played a key role in the statehood movement as a journalist and then as a political leader.
Ministers Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, E. Rajendar, E. Dayakar Rao, T. Srinivas Yadav, A. Indra Karan Reddy, Satyavathi Rathod, Sabitha Indrareddy, Koppula Eswar, V. Srinivas Goud, State Planning Board vice-chairman B. Vinod Kumar, MP J. Santosh Kumar and several others expressed condolences on the death of Ramalinga Reddy.
The TRS leaders said that Ramalinga Reddy’s death was a big loss to the TRS and the people of Dubbaka.
The last rites of the MLA were performed at Chittapur.
