Bridge to be named after Balayogi

hyderabad: condoling the death of lok sabha speaker g m c balayogi, the government has decided to name the yanam-yedurlanka bridge in east godavari district as well as the games village coming up at gachchibowli on the outskirts of hyderabad after balayogi as a mark of respect to his services to the state and nation. in addition, the government has decided to install a statue of the late leader, the first dalit to adorn the coveted speaker’s post in the lok sabha as well as the first speaker to die in harness, at “paryatan bhavan� coming up beside secretariat, and name it as balayogi paryatan bhavan.this apart, a memorial and a garden will be developed in amalapuram, the constituency represented by balayogi, in his memory. this was announced by chief minister n chandrababu naidu in the legislative assembly on monday during the discussion on the condolence motion. the assembly has passed the condolence motion unanimously with the leaders cutting across party lines recalling their association with balayogi as well as the latter’s services to the cause of the state, the uplift of dalits in particular. the chief minister also announced that the government had declared wednesday as a public holiday in the state to enable people to participate in the funeral of balayogi which will be held at amalapuram. the state government offices would instead function on second saturday. recalling his association with balayogi from 1987, naidu described balayogi’s death as a loss to the nation as well as a personal loss to him as the late leader was very intimate and always understood him. “after being elected as speaker, i reminded him that he was the first representative of a regional party to be elected as lok sabha speaker and hence, he need to perform. he did not speak a word but showed an excellent performance giving a new dignity to the speaker’s office,� naidu said. naidu also expressed concern over what he called the sympathetic condition of the deceased leader’s family and assured that the government would take all the steps in the interest of the family. earlier, congress legislature party leader y s rajasekhara reddy said that balayogi dispelled all the doubts about his ability to conduct business in the lok sabha. reddy suggested that the yanam-yedurulanka bridge be named after balayogi as he was very much associated with it. he also suggested that a park be named after him, and bronze statue of balayogi be installed at a suitable place. reddy further said that as a mark of respect to his parliamentarian standards his portrait be placed at a suitable place in parliament. bjp leader in the assembly n indrasena reddy said that state had lost a great dalit leader and every one was shocked with the sudden death of balayogi. mim floor leader asaduddin owaisi said that there was a meteoric rise in the political career of balayogi. he said that balayogi brought decorum to the speaker’s post and it was a tribute to his character. cpm floor leader nomula narasimhaiah said that balayogi had very much concern for the poor and dalits. he said that balayogi was another name for humanity and benevolence. trs leader k chandrasekhar rao said that he was very much shocked over the incident and said that death took balayogi in a cruel way. finance minister yanamala ramakrishnudu said that both central and state governments should take up programmes to remember balayogi for ever. major industries minister k vidyadhar rao suggested to the government to dedicate the ensuing national sports to balayogi and name the stadium at gachchibowli after him. congress legislator suresh reddy stating that balayogi promoted the indian parliamentary system at commonwealth and other fora, suggested to revive the andhra pradesh chapter of commonwealth association, and build a commonwealth block in his memory. ministers vadde shobanadreeswara rao, m mani kumari, b gopalakrishna reddy, k subbarayudu, j r pushparaj, k sivaprasad, dandu sivaramaraju, t nageshwara rao and members anantalaxmi, n sivaprasad, m narsimlu, p babu mohan, narayanaswamy, n swamidas, sayanna, s devaiah, avs suryanarayana, jyotula nehru all tdp, a indrakaran reddy, m mareppa and p laxmaiah, d nagender, d srinivas from congress party also spoke. earlier in the day, ministers, telugu desam party functionaries, and a large number of followers of g m c balayogi, bid a tearful farewell when his body was shifted to new delhi from the ntr trust building during the early hours of monday. governor of karnataka v s ramadevi; ministers t devender goud, t nageshwara rao, b gopalakrishna reddy, k vijayarama rao, b v mohan reddy, t srinivas yadav, and n anjaneyulu; leader of td parliamentary party k erran naidu; official spokesman of the party, r chandrasekar reddy; and government whip e dayakar rao were at the ntr trust buildings when the body was moved to the hyderabad airport around 3.15 am. ministers p ashok gajapath raju, kadiam srihari, chikkala ramachandra rao and erran naidu; mps vanga geeta and dr jagannatham; and party general secretary lal jan basha, accompanied the body to new delhi, according to tdp sources. g vazhisojan chief minister n chandrababu naidu (left) and clp leader y s rajasekhara reddy (right) come out of the assembly after the meeting to condole the death of lok sabha speaker gmc balayogi in hyderabad on monday.