Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi pay homage to YSR

The last journey of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy began from his house in Begumpet in Hyderabad after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and a host of party leaders paid homage to the departed leader.

Apart from the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers including P Chidambaram, A K Antony, Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chouhan and Chief Ministers Sheila Dixit and Ashok Gehlot met with Reddy's family members and conveyed their condolences.

Reddy's son Jagan Mohan, Rajya Sabha member and close aide of Reddy, K V P Ramchandra Rao and Congress MP Mohammed Azharuddin were among those who stood near the casket carrying Reddy's body with hundreds of police personnel surrounding the truck.

Thousands of people also lined up on both sides of the road to have a glimpse of their departed leader.

State and Central government offices, shops and commercial establishments across Andhra Pradesh remained closed in view of the state mourning announced after Reddy's death in a chopper crash.