MR. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I have to inform the House of the sad demise of five of our former colleagues, namely, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao, Shri K.S. Ramaswamy, Shri V. Arunachalam, Shri Krishna Prakash Tiwari and Shri Haribhau Shankar Mahale.
P. V. Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004)
9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996
Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao was a Member of the Sixth to Eleventh Lok Sabhas from 1977 to 1997. He represented the Hanamkonda Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh in the Sixth and Seventh Lok Sabhas; the Ramtek Parliamentary Constituency of Maharashtra in the Eighth and Ninth Lok Sabhas; the Nandyal Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh in the Tenth Lok Sabha; and the Berhampur Parliamentary Constituency of Orissa in the Eleventh Lok Sabha.
A great patriot and staunch nationalist, Shri Rao entered public life in the pre-Independence days and actively participated in the freedom struggle.
Shri Rao was a Member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1977. He served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee from 1958 to 1960, and the Committee on Official Languages from 1958 to 1961. Thereafter, he held various ministerial portfolios in the State. He was the Minister of Law and Information from 1962 to 1964; Minister of Law and Endowments from 1964 to 1967; Minister of Health and Medicine in 1967; and Minister of Education from 1968 to 1971. He became the Chief Minister of the State in 1971 and he graced that office till 1973.
The success with which he served the State of Andhra Pradesh led to his initiation in the national politics. During his membership of the Sixth Lok Sabha, he served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in 1978. At the Union, he held the charge of various important Ministries. He was Minister of External Affairs from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 1989; Minister of Home Affairs and Planning in 1984; Minister of Defence from 1984 to 1985; Minister of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 1988; and Minister of Health and Family Welfare from 1986 to 1988. After the tragic assassination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, he was invited to take over the onerous responsibility of leading the nation as the Prime Minister. This was in recognition of his leadership qualities, rich administrative experience and contributions to our polity[r1] .
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Shri Rao took many other policy decisions and steps which helped India march ahead with confidence on the path of economic development and peace and progress in various fields.
A multi-faceted personality, Shri Rao was a master of many languages and also a prolific writer and poet. He inter-alia translated the Jnanpeeth award winning Telugu novel Veyi Padagalu (Literally – Thousand Hoods) into Hindi as Sahasr Phan. After his retirement from politics, Shri Rao also authored the book titled “The Insider”.
Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao passed away on 23 December, 2004 at New Delhi at the age of 83 after a brief illness. In his demise the country has lost an able administrator, a veteran parliamentarian, a scholar par excellence and a visionary leader and statesman.
