Venkaiah Naidu breaks down in Rajya Sabha remembering Jaipal Reddy

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday broke down while making obituary references for former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who passed away on Sunday in Hyderabad.

"He was an outstanding orator and able administrator. I had the privilege of working with him for two terms in Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Both of us used to sit on the same bench. We used to effectively argue the people's cause in our own way," he said remembering his 40-years long association with Reddy.

Born in 1942, Reddy's journey into the political discourse started when he was elected as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Youth Congress. He went on to become a Congress legislator for four consecutive terms in the 1970s and held key portfolios in various governments. He also represented the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Upper House for two terms. He was also conferred with the best parliamentarian award in 1998.

"He has been my friend, senior and also he used to guide me. I am six years younger to him. We deeply mourn the passing away of Jaipal Reddy," an emotional Naidu said.

After the House paid its respect to Reddy observing two-minutes silence, Naidu recalled the days when they used to meet regularly over breakfast ahead of the Assembly sessions in Andhra Pradesh.

"Those days Assembly used to meet at 8 a.m. Both of us used to meet at 7 a.m. to discuss issues over breakfast. The amount of knowledge...the depth of understanding...mastery of languages...he was really remarkable," he said adding that it was very painful for him to hear about his demise.

"I am sorry, I could not control my emotions due to my 40-years of personal association," he said.