Jalagam Vengala Rao
| Jalagam Vengal Rao | |
|---|---|
| 5th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh | |
|
In office 10 December 1973 – 6 March 1978 |
|
| Preceded by | President's rule |
| Succeeded by | Marri Chenna Reddy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1921 |
| Died | 12 June 1999 |
Jalagam Vengal Rao or Jalagam Vengala Rao (May 1921 – 12 June 1999) was for much of his life a member of the Indian National Congress and was the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh which is now divided into two states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Rao hailed from Bayyannagudem in Khammam district (currently part of the Telangana state). His involvement in politics began when he was in his twenties, when he supported Congress in their campaign of armed defiance against the Nizam of Hyderabad. He was jailed for his involvement in this campaign, which was protesting the tenancy laws operating in the Telangana region. Although he tried and failed to be elected as an independent candidate in 1952, Rao subsequently was elected on four occasions to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh, where he represented the Sathupalli constituency of Khammam district. He was also twice elected to the Lok Sabha - the lower house of the Parliament of India - as a representative of the Khammam district constituency. The first of his successful Assembly elections was in 1962, and the period from 1952 to that time saw him occupying the post of president for the Khammam district branch of Congress and being the first chairman of the district council.
In 1968 he became State Home Minister in the state government headed by Kasu Brahmananda Reddy. Later, during his period as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, an office to which he was appointed by Indira Gandhi and held between 10 December 1973 and 6 March 1978, Rao's hallmark was his administrative efficiency. He is also known for his handling and containment of Naxalite insurgency, which took place during a revival of the Telangana movement that sought independent statehood. He replaced local officers with officers from far away districts so that a nexus between the Naxalites and the police could not be formed. He also introduced rehabilitation measures for the families of slain Naxalites so that they could lead an honourable life and not resort to the path of their forebears. He almost wiped out Naxalism from the state. He improved the lot of the tribals to ensure there were no fresh additions to the cadres. Later, the Vimadlal commission was appointed to probe into attacks on Naxalites during his period in office and his earlier actions against Communist-inspired Naxalites during the 1960s have been referred to as a "reign of terror". The official website for the government of Andhra Pradesh refers to his Chief Ministership, which came about following a period of President's rule, as a "popular ministry ... With this, normalcy returned and the State enjoyed political stability". Despite that popularity, he was unable to retain power in the 1978 elections.
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