Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, the speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from 2014 to 2019, committed suicide at his house in Hyderabad, police informed on Monday.
Rao was a senior leader of the opposition TDP. Rao, who was a doctor, joined the TDP in 1983.
According to media reports, Rao hanged himself in his residence on Sunday night. He was rushed to hospital, but was declared brought dead. The YSRCP government had registered several cases of corruption against Rao, including a charge of stealing furniture valued at Rs 1 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for his personal use. His son was also accused of stealing laptops from government skill development centres.
also read
- AP CM Jagan Reddy injured in stone pelting during road show in Vijayawada
- BJP seals alliance with TDP, Jana Sena in Andhra; seat-sharing talks to begin soon
- Ex-Andhra CM Naidu meets Shah amid BJP-TDP alliance buzz
- Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan in Delhi today as TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance talks gain momentum
He had been a MLA six times, winning from Narsaraopet five times and once from Sattenapalli. He had also been member of the cabinets of NT Rama Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu, serving in portfolios such as home, panchayati raj and health. Rao lost from Sattenapalli in the recent Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls.
Condoling his death, Naidu noted he had lost a good friend. Naidu lauded Rao's contributions as health minister.
