Denied ministry, Kagita suffers heart stroke
VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam senior leader and Pedana MLA Kagita Venkata Rao suffered heart attack on Monday and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.
Though Venkat Rao had been reportedly suffering from high blood pressure and other ailments, he was worried a lot over denial of berth in chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet, which had sworn-in Sunday evening.
Kagita Venkata Rao, a senior leader from Krishna district, has a long association with the TDP. A four-time MLA, he also worked as the chief whip and served as the chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Trust Board.
According to his close aides, Kagita was disappointed and appeared dejected right from Sunday afternoon after the confirmation of ministers to be sworn-in.
His followers started visiting his residence at Nageswararaopet in Bantumilli and staged a protest against the TD high command for neglecting Kagita's candidature. They even threatened to resign from MPTC and ZPTC posts. But, Kagita pacified them.
Kagita witnessed a steady flow of visitors Monday morning as well. And, his followers once again raised their voice against the party high command for repeatedly ignoring their leader and resolved to resign from MPTC, ZPTC and party posts.
Amid this melee, Kagita got emotional and collapsed when his blood and sugar levels fell down. Immediately, a doctor from the local government hospital attended on him and advised that he be taken to Vijayawada.
Kagita was then rushed to Vijayawada and admitted to Pallem Peddeswaara Rao Hospital. He is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the hospital sources said that he is under 24-hour observation even as his condition is stable for now.
'Kagita Venkata Rao has been with the TDP for the last 32 years. Though many parties tried to woo him, he has been loyal to TDP chief.
He was overlooked for the minister post in 1999 and now once again, despite the fact that he is a senior leader hailing from the BC community. Then, what's the point in being loyal to the party?' questioned Murthy, a TDP leader from Bantumili.
Offering the minister berth to first-time MLA Kollu Ravindra (Machilipatnam) is also learnt to have pained Kagita and his followers.
News Posted: 10 June, 2014
|
