Former Union Minister P. Shiv Shankar passed away here on Monday morning after a prolonged illness.
He was 89 and is survived by wife Laxmi Bai, two sons and a daughter.
Born on August 10, 1929 in Mamidipally village in Hyderabad district, Shiv Shankar passed BA from Hindu College, Amritsar, and went to complete LB from University Law College, Osmania University.
He contested the by-election to the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1979 on the Indian National Congress party ticket.
Shiv Shankar won the election and went on to retain the seat in 1980 too. He became Law Minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet in 1980. From 1985 till 1993, he represented the Congress as Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat.
In his political career spanning over three decades, Shiv Shankar served as External Affairs and Human Resource Development Minister. He first became Governor of Sikkim in 1994 and later was shifted to Kerala in 1995.
In 1998, he won on the Congress ticket from the Tenali Parliamentary constituency, defeating Telugu actor Sharada of the Telugu Desam Party.
In 2004, he developed differences with the Congress high command and levelled allegations about the selection of candidates. After lying low for some time, in 2008 he joined the Praja Rajyam Party floated by actor Chiranjeevi. The PRP merged with the Congress in 2011.
Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao visited his residence in Jubilee Hills and offered floral tributes to the late leader.
Congress leaders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh – Md. Ali Shabbir, K.V.P.Ramachandra Rao and others paid their tributes to the departed leader. Leader of the Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and YSR Congress president Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy condoled the death of Shiv Shankar.
The last rites would be performed at the Puranapul crematorium on Tuesday morning. The Telangana government issued a statement this afternoon saying that the last rites would be performed with police honours.
