Ex-speaker’s final rites held amid tight security

The final rites of former assembly speaker Dr Kodela Siva Prasada Rao were performed amid tight security in Narasaraopet town on Wednesday.
Expressing grief, Sand art of former Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao was displayed by TDP leaders at the beach road in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. | (G satyanarayana | EPS)
Expressing grief, Sand art of former Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao was displayed by TDP leaders at the beach road in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. | (G satyanarayana | EPS)

GUNTUR: The final rites of former assembly speaker Dr Kodela Siva Prasada Rao were performed amid tight security in Narasaraopet town on Wednesday. Thousands of followers of the doctor-turned-politician along with Telugu Desam party leaders and activists, including party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu and party national general secretary Nara Lokesh, took part in the funeral procession that started from the Kodela’s residence to the Swargapuri funeral house, which was incidentally developed by Kodela himself.

Though the government wanted to accord State honours to Kodela, family members of the former speaker refused the same, saying that Kodela ended his life unable to bear harassment by the YSRC government.
Guntur District Collector I Samuel Anand Kumar, Guntur rural superintendent of police R Jayalakshmi and other officials went to Dr Siva Prasada Rao’s house after knowing the decision of State honour refusal in order to convince them.

Kodela’s family members including son Dr Sivaramakrishna and daughter Dr Vijayalakshmi, however, did not budge and stuck to their stand.

TDP Guntur district president GV Anjaneyulu said the family members refused the honours as they felt that Kodela had ended his life due to harassment of the YSRC government. The funeral procession started from the house of Siva Prasada Rao at Narasaraopet at 2 pm. Mild tension prevailed for some time when some TDP activists tried to enter the main road leading to YSRC MLA Dr Gopireddy Srinivasa Reddy’s residence-cum-hospital.  Sensing trouble, police stopped them but the activists tried to forcibly make their way. 

With this, police informed the TDP leaders who immediately brought the situation under control by asking the party workers to take the route proposed by the police.

TDP supremo Naidu to call on Governor today

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