Ex-Andhra Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao commits suicide

 Former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao died allegedly after attempting to commit suicide at his house in Hyderabad on Monday. He was 72.

Police rushed to his house in posh Banjara Hills and launched the investigation as the news spread that Rao died at a private hospital.

Rao was taken to Basvatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital by his driver and gunman. The doctors have not yet announced the cause of the death.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Buddha Venkanna alleged in Vijayawada that Rao ended his life due to mental harassment by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government.

A senior TDP leader from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Rao had served as a minister in the cabinets of N. T. Rama Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

He served as Assembly Speaker from 2014 to 2019. He was defeated in the recent Assembly elections.

Rao, a six time MLA, is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.IANS