New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS): The Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour on Thursday after condoling the death of a member of the lower House from Tirupati, Balli Durga Prasad.

Durga Prasad passed away in Chennai on Wednesday due to Covid-19. The YSRCP leader, who was 64-year-old, was undergoing treatment for coronavirus at a private hospital in Chennai.

Soon after the Lok Sabha assembled for the day at 3 p.m. to conduct its fourth day of the Monsoon Session proceedings, Speaker Om Birla expressed grief over the death of the MP.

After making obituary references in the memory of the leader and keeping two-minute silence, Birla adjourned the hour for an hour.

Born in Nellore district, Durga Prasad entered into politics at the age of 26 with the encouragement of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder NT Rama Rao. He was elected as an MLA from Gudur constituency of Nellore district for four times in 1985, 1994, 1999, 2009 assembly elections and elected as an MP from YSRCP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He also served as a minister in the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's government between 1996-98.