Hyderabad, Jul 28 (IANS): Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy died after a brief illness in Hyderabad in the early hours of Sunday, his family said. He was 77.

Reddy breathed his last around 1.30 a.m. at a private hospital in Hyderabad, where he was admitted recently and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Born in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha for five terms and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms.

He began his political career in his student days at Osmania University. Protesting the imposition of emergency, he quit Congress to join the Janata Party and later became its general secretary. He contested unsuccessfully against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from Medak Lok Sabha constituency in 1980.

Reddy served as Minister for Information and Broadcasting in I.K. Gujral government. He also served as a minister in UPA-I and UPA-II government and held portfolios like urban development and culture, petroleum and natural gas, science and technology and earth sciences.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has condoled the death of Reddy. In his condolence message conveyed to the members of the bereaved family, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief recollected the services rendered by Reddy as the union minister and as a good parliamentarian.