Immediately after being sworn in on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah convened an emergency Cabinet meeting which adopted a resolution to name Kadapa district after Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy as a tribute to the departed leader.The meeting, which lasted hardly 20 minutes, mourned Dr. Reddy and four others who died in Wednesday’s helicopter crash. It observed a two-minute silence.
Describing YSR’s death as most shocking, the Cabinet expressed its deep sympathies to all the bereaved families.
Later, Mr. Rosaiah and his Cabinet colleagues drove to YSR’s residence at Begumpet and paid their respects to the leader. The Cabinet placed on record the service rendered by Dr. Reddy, stating he had saved the State from an imminent financial crisis and put it on the highway of development in five years.
It recalled several innovative schemes introduced by him such as Aarogyasri, Pavala Vaddi, Abhaya Hastham, free power to farmers, Indiramma, fee reimbursement to students, loan waiver for various sections and his flagship programme, Jalayagnam under which 81 irrigation projects had been taken up at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore to cover over one crore acres.
“It is hard to believe that the amiable, visionary and workaholic Chief Minister, who was humane in every word and deed, is no more. The void caused by his death can’t be filled,” the Cabinet said.