SENIOR Congress leader and former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who was known for his oratorical skills and carved a place for himself in Parliament and State Assembly, died at a hospital here on Sunday.

The 77-year-old was recently diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital, where he died at 1.28 am, a Congress leader told PTI.

 

Reddy’s limited physical mobility due to polio never deterred him from achieving political heights and he served as a Lok Sabha MP for five terms, as a member of Rajya Sabha for two terms and was a four-term MLA. He had agitated against the imposition of Emergency and came out of the party. After coming out of the Congress, he joined the Janata party and contested against Indira Gandhi in Medak Lok Sabha constituency in 1980. He later joined its splinter group Janata Dal. Besides earning him accolades, his exceptional oratorical skills and articulation made him the spokesperson for the United Front and National Front Governments and the Congress Party.

 

Reddy was a staunch supporter of separate statehood for Telangana. Congress leaders recalled that he played a crucial role in convincing the UPA-II Government and AICC President Sonia Gandhi to grant separate statehood to Telangana.