Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Mar 04, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Mar 04, 2002 |
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Government
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Politics A third star burns out suddenly Our Bureau
HYDERABAD, March 3 THE Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP, G.M.C. Balayogi, who died in a copter crash on Sunday, is the third young and rising political leader of the current Lok Sabha whose life has been cut short in tragic circumstances. The others were Congress leaders, Rajesh Pilot, who was killed in a road accident a few years ago, and Madhavrao Scindia, who died in a helicopter accident last year. Balayogi was among the younger politicians who were brought into the political arena by N.T. Rama Rao when he launched the TDP in 1982 and came to power in Andhra Pradesh. Born into an agricultural family in Yedurulanka village in October 1951, Balayogi began his career as a lawyer at Kakinada in East Godavari district. He came into prominence as Chairman of the East Godavari Zilla Parishad and entered the Lok Sabha in 1991. However, he lost in the 1996 Lok Sabha election and soon got elected to the State Assembly from the Mummidivaram constituency and served as the Minister of Higher Education in the Chandrababu Naidu cabinet. Subsequently, he was elected to the Lok Sabha and became its Speaker in 1998, thereby becoming the first Dalit speaker. Balayogi will also be remembered for his signal contributions to the development of not only his constituency, Amalapuram, but the entire Konaseema region. Among the major projects that were initiated due to his efforts are the Yanam-Yedurulanka inter-State bridge over the Godavari river, the revival of the Kakinada-Kotipalli Railway line, which was abandoned after World War II by the British, and gas-based power projects. The Rs 110-crore Yanam bridge is set to be commissioned by June 2002. The Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant, and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, were among those who paid their respects to the deceased Speaker at the TDP office in the city. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, described the death of Balayogi as not just a personal loss to him but also to the State and country. "His commitment to serve the poor and the downtrodden and his interest in rural development were noteworthy."
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