Overview
- Veteran Kapu leader and former Andhra minister Mudragada Padmanabham died while receiving treatment in Hyderabad on Tuesday, July 14, at age 73.
- The Andhra Pradesh government offered state funeral honours but Padmanabham’s family declined the official rites, saying they did not want the honours.
- Tension at his native Kirlampudi turned public when family members and supporters prevented his daughter B. Kranthi from touching the body and police escorted her away.
- Kakinada district police registered a case against YSRCP leader Ambati Rambabu after officers complained he and supporters pushed police while they were presenting a guard of honour during the last rites.
- Padmanabham led decades of agitation for Kapu reservation, his 2016 Kapu Garjana protest remains subject to an Indian Railways trial, and his death could reshape local Kapu politics and legal battles in the state.