Veteran actor Kota Srinivasa Rao dies at 83
Hyderabad (PTI): Veteran Telugu actor and former BJP MLA Kota Srinivasa Rao, known for his highly acclaimed performances, passed away here due to old age-related ailments on Sunday. He was 83.
Rao, who had been unwell for several years now, breathed his last in the early hours of Sunday at his residence here, film industry sources said.
Srinivasa Rao has acted in 750 films in a career spanning more than four decades.
He debuted in the 1978 film 'Pranam Khareedu', which also marked the debut of superstar Chiranjeevi.
Some of his most acclaimed works include 'Pratighatana', 'Satruvu', 'Ahana Pellanta', 'Hello Brother', 'Money', director Ram Gopal Varma's 'Siva' and 'Gaayam' were some of the films which brought immense fame to Srinivasa Rao.
A recipient of Padma Shri, Srinivasa Rao had served as a BJP MLA from Vijayawada East assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh from 1999 to 2004.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, actor-turned-politician and Andhra Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and several other leaders condoled the demise of Srinivasa Rao.
Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao, his Andhra counterpart PVN Madhav visited Srinivasa Rao's residence here and paid homage.
Chiranjeevi, junior NTR, leading producer D Suresh Babu, veteran actor Murali Mohan and several other film personalities also condoled the death of Srinivasa Rao.
Popular actor Sivaji Raja, a close friend of Srinivasa Rao, told PTI that the family members would decide on when to conduct the funeral after Srinivasa Rao's younger brother and actor Kota Sankar Rao reaches Hyderabad.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
