3 Sep : K Rosaiah, who has been sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is the senior most Congress leader in successive Congress governments since 1979.
77-year-old Rosaiah, a low profile and non controversial leader, has held various portfolios under different Chief Ministers but he is most popular as the Finance Minister.
He, in fact, set a record by presenting as many as 15 Budgets to the Assembly.
Born in July 1933 at Vemuru in Guntur district, the Commerce graduate has been active in politics since his student days in the Hindu College, Guntur.
A low profile and non-controversial leader, he was a close follower of the late parliamentarian and farmers leader Prof N G Ranga.
Rosaiah, who belongs to the Vaishya community, served as a member of AP Legislative Council in 1968, 1974 and 1980 and became a Minister for Roads and Buildings in 1979 under Marri Channa Reddy.
Subsequently, Rosaiah served as a Minister in the Cabinets of T Anjaiah, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, N Janardhana Reddy and has been serving as a Minister in the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy Cabinet since May 2004.
He held portfolios like home, health, education and transport.
He also served as Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President between 1995 and 1997 and was elected to Lok Sabha from Narsaraopet in 1998.
Andhra University conferred an honorary doctorate on Rosaiah in 2007.
Rosaiah is married to Sivalaxmi and has three sons and a daughter.
President, PM and Sonia condole YSR’s tragic death
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday condoled the tragic death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, describing him as a dynamic leader and role model who worked for the welfare of farmers and weaker sections.
In a message from Moscow where she is on a state visit, the President said Reddy was a dynamic Chief Minister who always worked for the welfare of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Terming it as a personal loss, the Prime Minister said Reddy was a “role model” and an outstanding leader with a tireless commitment to serve the people.
In his message to Reddy’s widow Vijaya Lakshmi, Singh said Reddy worked for the masses, especially the poor and under-privileged, and described him as a “valued colleague on whom I depended for support and ideas”.
Praising Reddy as a “natural leader”, the Prime Minister said he would be remembered for his unwavering commitment to the development of Andhra Pradesh and his administrative acumen.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi recalled that ahead of the assembly and general elections this year, while the party was concerned about the outcome, Reddy was confident that Congress would return to power.