Villuri Venkataramana | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
In office 1953–1962 | |
Constituency | Andhra Pradesh |
Personal details | |
Born | Gavarapalem, Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Madras Presidency, British India | 15 May 1923
Died | 1978 (aged 54–55) |
Political party | Swatantra Party, Krishikar Lok Party |
Villuri Venkataramana (15 May 1923–1978) was an Indian politician. He served as a Member of Parliament representing Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament, as a member of the Indian National Congress.[1][2][3] Venkataramana died in 1978.[4]
Venkataramana was first elected to the Rajya Sabha at the age of 31. He served two terms there. He gained experience working under political stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru, Babu Jagjeevan Ram, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was a devoted disciple of N.G. Ranga and Gouthu Latchanna. Despite being critical of the Congress for its governance failures, he also invested in farmers' welfare. He transitioned from representing the Swatantra Party to the Krishikar Lok Party. Throughout his career, he remained committed to his ideologies.[5] He thrice ran for parliament from the Anakapalli constituency, in 1962, 1967, and 1971. He lost to Missula SuryaNarayana Murti by 16,010 votes in 1962, then by 3,024 votes in 1967, and finally to S.R.A.S. Appala Naidu by 146,094 votes.[6] Despite offers from the Congress for central ministerial positions, he remained steadfast in his ideologies and continued his association with the Krishikar Lok Party.[7]
For the first time in India, he traveled to Delhi with farmers and facilitated a meeting with the President.[8]
When the Thummapala Sugars plant was going to be auctioned, Venkataramana collected money from the farmers, purchased the sugar factory for 2.7 million rupees, and transformed it into a cooperative society.
Later, it was renamed VV Ramana Cooperative Sugars in tribute to Villuri Venkata Ramana by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. In Anakapalle town, farmers paid homage to VV Ramana by incorporating his name into the Gowri Pradamika Seva Sangam and Anakapalle Rythu Sangams.
A temple is built in the Gavarapalem area of Anakapalle in his memory, and a festival is held there in January every year.[9]