The Hindu : Karnataka News : Leaders mourn Narasimha Rao's death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 24, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Leaders mourn Narasimha Rao's death

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, DEC. 23. The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, several Union and State Ministers, MPs and political leaders have expressed grief over the death of the former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao.

Mr. Singh described him as the man who strode the Indian politics like a colossus.

He remembered that Mr. Rao entered public life with his defiance of the ban on "Vande Mataram" imposed by the Nizam's government, and chose to mould himself on the model of the likes of Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Swami Ramananda Tirtha and others.

His "gifts' to the nation as Prime Minister were boundless, Mr. Singh said, and remembered that the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, as Finance Minister under Mr. Rao authored and orchestrated the economic liberalisation process that had taken India to new heights and forced the world to look at India with admiration as a nation of the future. The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, said that in the passing away of Mr. Rao the nation had lost a leading member of the old order of politicians.

`Astute politician'

The former Minister for Railways, C.K. Jaffer Sharief, said with Mr. Rao's death the country had lost an astute politician and an able administrator.

The former Chief Minister, S.R. Bommai said that Mr. Rao introduced economic reforms and saved the nation from economic disaster. It was his biggest service to the nation.

The BJP General Secretary and MP, H.N. Ananth Kumar, said the country had lost an able administrator, a political stalwart, and the architect of India's liberalisation. The Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, said with Mr. Rao's death, the country had lost an able statesman and sincere administrator.

Commitment

The Union Minister of State for Planning, M.V. Rajashekaran, said the Mr. Rao belonged to the generation of Mahatma Gandhi. His commitment to rural development and liberal reforms in the economy had received wide appreciation.

Mr. Rao served the nation in various capacities and his service in preparing Congress's manifesto for several elections was memorable, said K.H. Muniyappa, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways.

The Minister for Water Resources and Transport, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, said Mr. Rao was a dynamic administrator and political thinker. Many politicians had followed his style of politics, he said.

The Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, H.K. Patil, recalled the contribution made by the Congress veteran and said the Panchayat Raj institutions became more effective today because of his decision to amend the Panchayat Raj Act in the early 1990s. The Congress MP and former Union and State Minister, R.L. Jalappa, said Mr. Rao's tenure as the Prime Minister witnessed several changes in the political and economic system of the country. Others who mourned the death of Mr. Rao are the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, B. Janardhana Poojary, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, B.S. Yediyurappa, the State BJP President, Jagadish Shettar, the Mayor of Bangalore, R. Narayana Swamy, the Deputy Mayor, N. Shantakumari, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President, H.D. Gangaraj, the President of the Press Club of Bangalore, Arakere Jayaram, and the Infosys Chief Mentor, N.R. Narayana Murthy.

Postponed

Our Dharwad Special Correspondent reports:

The inauguration of the Kanaka Bhavan by the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, at Karnatak University on Friday has been postponed in view of the death of Mr. Rao.

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