Tributes paid to YSR on birth anniversary

HYDERABAD: Rich tributes were paid to the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on his 62nd birth anniversary Friday.The late leader's widow Vijaylakshmi, son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, daughter Sharmila and other family members paid homage to him at his 'samadhi' at the family estate at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district.Leaders and activists of the YSR Congress Party also visited the tomb of the leader, who died in a helicopter crash Sep 2, 2009.The YSR Congress Party, floated by his son Jaganmohan Reddy in March this year after he quit the Congress, also began its two-day plenary at Idupulapaya Friday.In Hyderabad, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, his deputy Damodar Rajanarasimha, former chief minister K. Rosaiah and other state leaders paid homage to the late leader by garlanding his statue at Punjagutta Circle.State Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana, several state ministers and leaders of the ruling party also paid tributes to YSR, as the late chief minister was popularly known.At a function held at Gandhi Bhavan, the state headquarters of the Congress, leaders of the party recalled YSR's services to strengthen the party in the state.Referring to the ongoing agitation for separate statehood for Telangana region, YSR's younger brother and Congress leader Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy said if the late chief minister was alive, separatism would not have raised its head.