Senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and four-time lawmaker Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy died of cardiac arrest, after a brief illness, at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday morning. He was 57.
Reddy is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son. He was keeping unwell for quite some time after he underwent a surgery for his leg due to a diabetic infection.
Hailing from Chittapur village of Dubbak block in Medak district in Telangana, Reddy had been associated with the Naxalite movement during his college days in ’80s before joining the mainstream to take to journalism as a profession
He worked for a vernacular daily while actively fighting on the local issues. He was also booked under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). Reddy headed the Medak district unit of Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) in the 1990s.
He had been associated with the TRS since its inception in 2001. He was first elected to the legislature in the year 2004 from Dubbak assembly constituency and again in the by-elections held for the seat in 2008 following the resignation of all the TRS MLAs. He, however, lost the elections in 2009.
After the formation of the Telangana state in 2014, Reddy was back in the state assembly from the same constituency and continued the winning streak in 2018 elections as well. He was made a member of the Estimates Committeee of the Telangana assembly.
TRS president and chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed deep shock over the sudden demise of the senior MLA. Recalling his association with Reddy as a fellow Telangana activist, the chief minister conveyed his condolences to members of the bereaved family.
