Prime Minister condoles demise of P.V
Narasimha Rao
New Delhi
December 23, 2004
“I have received
with deep sadness the news of the passing away of Shri P.V Narasimha Raoji.
It is a personal loss for me. I sincerely valued his guidance, his advice,
his support and his friendship. He was generous to a fault in extending each
of these to me with grace and affection. Raoji was a true patriot, a
nationalist to the core, a visionary, a statesman, a builder, a reformer
and, without doubt, a statesman. Our country was fortunate that at a time
when it was gripped by great national sorrow and a grave tragedy, on the one
hand, and a serious economic crisis, on the other, it was able to reach out
to an elder statesman like Shri Rao and place the destiny of this nation in
his hands. He will forever be remembered as the father of economic reforms
in India. I could do whatever I was able to as the Finance Minister because
of his unstinted support and co-operation.
Shri Rao was schooled in
politics in the anti-Nizam struggles of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. His
politics acquired a spiritual tinge under the guidance of Swami Ramananda
Thirth, his guru and patron saint to whom he was totally devoted to the very
end. His contribution to public life was first seen in his modernisation of
the educational system and the endowments administration in Andhra Pradesh.
As chief minister, he was deeply committed to land reforms and to the unity,
integrity and development of Andhra Pradesh. His contribution to national
development was felt both in the work of human resources development
ministry and in the external affairs ministry.
Shri Rao was a unique
phenomenon in Indian politics. Apart from Panditji, there have been few
others in political life who were so well read. He was a man of letters, a
poly-linguist and a writer. I join the nation in paying tribute to his
departed soul”.