|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Monday, 04 March 2002 |
 |
|
 |
World | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Indian parliament speaker killed in helicopter crash HYDERABAD, India, March 3 (AFP) - The speaker of the Indian parliament, G.M.C. Balayogi, was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, his personal assistant confirmed here. The helicopter, carrying Balayogi, a personal security guard and the pilot, crashed into a tree due to poor visibility, reports said. Balayogi was enroute to Andhra Pradesh's provincial capital Hyderabad when the chopper went down. "The helicopter, which was a private one, crashed around 7:45 am (02:15 GMT) in the coastal Krishna district," Balayogi's assistant said. Local rescue teams rushed to the spot had recovered three charred bodies from the site of the crash and taken them to a nearby hospital. Balayogi, 50, was elected speaker of the lower house in March 1998. He was a familiar figure from the live broadcasts of parliament, which all too often showed him struggling to control rowdy MPs from both the government and opposition benches. India's home minister Lal Krishna Advani, on a tour of sectarian riot-hit areas of the western state Gujarat, expressed his shock at Balayogi's sudden demise. "Its very sad news that the speaker has died in a helicopter crash," Advani told reporters soon after his arrival in Gujarat's commercial capital Ahmedabad. "He was one of youngest politicians in country and was doing a wonderful job in the last four years as speaker," Advani said. Balayogi, who belonged to the Dalit (lower caste) community, was a lawyer from Andhra Pradesh. He first entered politics in the mid-1980s and joined the regional Telegu Desam Party, which is currently providing crucial outside support to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's federal coalition government. Balayogi was first elected to the national parliament in 1991 and re-elected in general elections in 1998 and 1999. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
