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Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He represented the Indian National Congress party. He was elected to the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Lok Sabha from the Kadapa constituency for four terms and to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for five terms from the Pulivendula constituency. In 2003 he undertook a three month long paadayaatra, or walking tour, across several districts in Andhra Pradesh. He led his party to victory in the next general and assembly elections held in 2004. On September 2, 2009 a helicopter carrying YSR went missing in the Nallamala forest area. On the morning of 3 September, 2009, media agencies reported that the helicopter had been found crashed on top of Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles from Kurnool. This was later confirmed by the Prime Minister's office and all five persons aboard were pronounced dead at the scene.

Early life

Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy was born in a Christian family at Jammalamadugu Mission Hospital near Pulivendula, Andhra Pradesh to Y S Raja Reddy and Jayamma . He graduated with a degree in medical science from Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College (MRMC) Gulbarga University, Karnataka and completed his House Surgeonship at S.V. Medical College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. He was the elected leader of the House Surgeon's Association at S.V. Medical College, Tirupati.

Career

Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy practiced medicine for sometime in his native Kadapa District. The hospital his father built for him at Pulivendula is still running. His family also built and ran a degree college and a polytechnic college at Pulivendula which was later handed over to the Loyola Group of Educational Institutions. Another junior college at Simhadripuram, a small town in the vicinity of Pulivendula, is run by his family.

Political career

From 1980 to 1983 he was a minister holding important portfolios related to Rural Development, Medical Health and Education. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa constituency four times and was elected to the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly six times from Pulivendula constituency. Reddy was the leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly for five years. As an MLA he was influential in obtaining water from the Tungabhadra River for the Pulivendula Branch Canal (PBC) and fought for projects like RTPP (Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant) at Muddanur and Proddatur Milk Foods and its ancillaries.

APCC President

He was President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) twice: 1983–1985 and 1998–2000. As the president of APCC, Reddy rendered yeoman services to the party in regaining the faith and trust of the masses. From 1999 to 2004 he was the Leader of Opposition in the eleventh state assembly.

Paadayaatra

During mid-summer of 2003, he led a 1400 km long paadayaatra (journey by foot), covering some of the backward areas in the state to understand the ground realities and living conditions of the people there. As a novice in the legislature, Reddy rallied all the Congress MLAs from the Rayalaseema region and led an indefinite hunger strike demanding solution to the water crisis. He also led a paadayaatra from Lepakshi to Pothireddipadu in Kurnool district.

Chief Minister

He was elected as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh by the Legislature party of the Indian National Congress after they later won 185 seats of the Legislative Assembly in the May 2004 elections. He has initiated a variety of programs that influence the Economy of Andhra Pradesh including free power supply for farmers, Jalayagnam – a large scale program to construct more than 70 pending irrigation projects in the state to improve irrigation facilities to the farmers, and an increase in the minimum support price for rice. Prominent among other programs include the controversial Rajiv Arogya Shree Program – a health insurance scheme for rural masses where the government pays the entire price of any surgery and does not require people to pay any premium, Pavala Vaddi – a program that provides loans to people at 3% per year so as to encourage them to take up small scale businesses and entrepreneurship primarily targeted at rural women, Indiramma illu – a program for construction of houses for the rural masses by charging a small amount and the government the remaining amount, a Rs 2/Kg rice scheme, reimbursement of full college fees for backward sections, reservations for minorities, and a huge loan waiver program for the farmers.

Election 2009

Reddy's major campaign slogan for the 2009 election was "Development and the credibility ".

In the elections, Reddy's party (INC) secured the required majority in the assembly (156 seats) and also won 33 seats in parliament.

Reddy was sworn in as the chief minister for the term of 2009–2014 on 20 May 2009. The ceremony was held in Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and attended by a crowd of around 20,000 people.

Controversies

Opposition parties allege corruption in the implementation of Reddy's programs as well as in various other actions of both Reddy and his family. In 2008, Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu accused Reddy and his family of illegally amassing income through their companies Sandur Power Company, Jagathi Publications and Bharathi Cement Corporation. He also alleged that Reddy's sons were involved in the Satyam scandal. Also, the allotment of 487 acres of land in March 2007 to Raghuram Cements, which had the son of Reddy as one of its directors, was criticised by the Telugu Desam Party. The surrender of more than 1600 acres by Reddy in December 2006 was also criticised by the opposition parties who demanded Reddy's prosecution and resignation from his post. Naidu also called for Reddy's resignation after a 2007 Khammam police shooting resulted in eight deaths.

"I not only have 614 acres at Idupulapaya estate in Vempalli mandal. I also have another 1,000 acres in Kundur village in Rajampet between Renugunta and Kadapa town in Kadapa district. This land is unregistered, and was bought by my father (Y S Raja Reddy) as he was interested in growing trees and creating a green belt," Y S Rajasekara Reddy said during his intervention in a debate on 18th December 2006 regarding the controversy about illegal occupation of assigned land. Interestingly, he revised the quantum of land that his family possesses in Idupulapaya from 715 acres.

Quoting rules, Y S Rajasekara Reddy maintained that no penal action can be initiated against him as he had surrendered the 310.57 acres on his own. The opposition, however, including the TDP, the CPM, TRS and BJP said the exemption charges quoted by YSR was applicable to officers only and that he should resign and face prosecution.

Personal life

Reddy was married to Vijaya Lakshmi. They have a son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a politician, and a daughter, Sharmila.

Death

Y. S Rajasekhara Reddy's Bell 430 helicopter went missing on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 9:35 am. Begumpet and Shamshabad Air Traffic controllers lost contact with the chopper at 9:02 am. The chopper went missing in the dense Nallamala forest area, which is associated with the outlawed Naxal communist activity. Although there had been little Naxalite activity of late, the area had been pummeled by continuous rains, making the search mission very challenging. Several low altitude planes and the Indian Airforce's Sukhoi-30MKI with thermal imaging system were deployed, with an IL 78 on standby for Air–Air refueling. In the largest ever search operation in India massive ground operations were deployed which included 5000 CRPF soldiers for a search-and-rescue mission.

The army and police from six districts were involved in the ground search. Andhra Pradesh's anti Naxal forces were also deployed in the area, owing to their familiarity with the jungle terrain there. Local tribal residents from this part of the state assisted with the search mission. Patrol parties also combed the Krishna river for the remains of the helicopter.

ISRO's special aircraft was deployed for the searches, generating 41 images but was unable to trace the chopper. The area which was combed lies south of the state capital of Hyderabad. The territory is huge, around the town of Atmakur, in the eastern part of the Kurnool district.

The Indian Prime Minister's Office confirmed the chopper's crash on the morning of 3 September and the death of all aboard, including Reddy, his special secretary P Subrahmanyam, chief security officer ASC Wesley, Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy. He will be buried on September 4 at Pulivendula in Kadapa district. Konjeti Rosaiah is the caretaker Chief Minister; a hunt is on in the Congress party for the next Chief Minister.

Positions held

• Minister of state for rural development (1980–82)
• Excise minister (1982)
• Education minister (1982–83)
• Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (2004–2009)

References

1. "Profile: YSR Reddy". Zee News. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
2. YSR’s pocket borough, 21 April 2009. The Hindu
3. "Admirers mob 'pilgrim YSR' " The Hindu
4. "Andhra CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy dies". Press Trust of India. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
5. ^ "Mystery over Andhra CM's whereabouts after chopper lands". The Hindustan Times. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
6. Army, IAF search for missing Andhra CM as confusion reigns
7. http://www.gzyn.com/cmp/contentReadingActions.do?method=readArticle&id=2219&edition=1&title=AROGYASREE+IN+AP:+FOR+WHOSE+HEALTH%3F
8. Charya, K.V.V.V. (10 December 2007). "Rs 2/kg rice to add Rs 3,000cr burden on Andhra coffers". The Financial Express. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
9. "YSR Reddy sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh CM". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
10. "Naidu to approach Centre on YSR's 'Satyam route of corruption". Indian Express. Screen. Retrieved May 26, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
11. Chaubey, Bhupendra (19 February 2009). "Opposition flays Satyam link of YSR Reddy's sons". CBN-IBN. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
12. "487 acres land for YSR son's firm". The Hindu. 30 March 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. "Mining lease issue snowballs into controversy". The Hindu. 6 April 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
14. "I've 1,000 acres more, says CM". Times of India. 19 December 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
15. "Khammam firing: TDP demands YSR's resignation". The Hindu. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
16. "More cheap rice, free power". Indian Express. 21 May 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
17. "YSR leaves for pilgrimage to Israel". The Hindu. 27 May 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
18. "'Shooting' for posterity". The Hindu. 16 August 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
19. "Panic, anxiety grips YSR's followers". The Times of India. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
20. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/5000-crpf-personnel-involved-in-search-for-andhra-cm/511476/
21. "Andhra CM's fate uncertain, IAF deploys Sukhoi to locate YSR's chopper". The Economic Times. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
22. "Massive rescue operation on to trace Andhra CM's chopper". The Times of India. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
23. "'YSR's copter may have made safe landing'". Express Buzz. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
24. "Andhra Pradesh plunges into gloom". The Hindustan Times. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
25. PMO confirms death of andhra CM
26. "YSR's funeral to be held at his hometown". 2009-09-03.
27. "Finance Minister K Rosiah is caretaker CM". NDTV. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
28. CM DEAD IN CHOPPER CRASH: Hunt for successor to YSR begins

External links

• Government profile
• YSR Portal

• Recent deaths
• 1949 births
• 2009 deaths
• Andhra Pradesh politicians
• Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh
• 9th Lok Sabha members
• 10th Lok Sabha members
• 11th Lok Sabha members
• 12th Lok Sabha members
• Indian Christians
• Telugu people
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in India
• Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents