The Hindu : Parliament tributes to Balayogi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 05, 2002

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Parliament tributes to Balayogi
By Our Special Correspondent

The Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, consoling the son and daughter of the Lok Sabha Speaker, G.M.C. Balayogi, in Parliament on Monday. Both Houses paid tributes to Balayogi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, and adjourned till Thursday. - Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. Both Houses of Parliament today paid rich tributes to the Lok Sabha Speaker, G.M.C. Balayogi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. As a mark of respect to the departed leader, both Houses observed silence and adjourned till Thursday.

The President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, political leaders and MPs placed wreaths on the body of Balayogi kept on the Parliament House premises this morning.

Earlier, the mortal remains were brought in a special IAF plane from Hyderabad. Before being flown back to Balayogi's hometown, the body was taken to his official residence at 20, Akbar Road to enable his admirers to pay their last respects.

The Union Ministers, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreya, the TDP Parliamentary Party leader, K. Yerran Naidu, and Balayogi's elder daughter Deepti and son Harish accompanied the body to Delhi.

Both Houses of Parliament assembled at 11 a.m. after the body was shifted from the premises. In the Lok Sabha, the Deputy Speaker, P.M. Sayeed, described Balayogi as a ``very self- effacing and humble person of enormous dignity'' who was known for demonstrable fairness and equality of treatment to all parties within and outside the House. ``He obsessively refused to be distracted by fractious and competitive politics,'' he said.

Mr. Sayeed said that in 1998, during a meeting with the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussain, Balayogi's personal intervention led to the release of two fishermen from Kerala, working in Kuwait, who were detained there for inadvertently straying into the territorial waters of that country.

Both Mr. Sayeed and the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Krishan Kant, said Balayogi had received wide support for his initiative in establishing a code of conduct for Parliamentarians and Legislators which even provides for automatic punitive action for any violation. Mr. Kant said Balayogi endeared himself to one and all while showing firmness when needed.

The TDP Parliamentary Party said Balayogi had occupied the high office by dint of his ability and service to the common man.

A delegation of the French Senate Committee of External Affairs, Defence, and Armed Forces along with the French Ambassador in India, De Montferrand, paid their last respects.

PTI reports:

The Government extended till March 6 the State mourning declared on Sunday as a mark of respect to Balayogi.

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