Sonia Gandhi consoles Upendra's family

Former Union Minister  close associate of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telegu desam Supremo N T  Rama Rao, Parvathaneni Upendra, passed away at a hospital in Hyderabad on Monday. Upendra, who was on dialysis after a kidney ailment, died of renal failure.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled Upendra's death."I was deeply saddened to learn about the untimely demiseof your husband Shri P Upendra. He was a senior and respected leader in the state, and as Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, he was instrumental in introducing the Prasar Bharati Bill," she said in a condolence message sent to Upendra's wife P Vasundhara.

Upendra, who served as Cabinet minister for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs in National Front government headed by V P Singh, later made up with Congress and became a member of the Lok Sabha on its ticket for two terms between 1996 and 1998.

A government official, he had plunged into politics at the height of N T Rama Rao's campaign against Congress and joined Telugu Desam Party and was a virtual number two in the party till he fell out with it in 1992 when some of its MPs defied party whip and supported the minority P V Narasimha Rao government. He later joined Praja Rajyam Party floated by Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi.