Karnataka declares holiday today in Chamarajanagar, Mysore districts following BJP leader V Srinivas Prasad’s death

The Karnataka government in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts of the state have declared a holiday on Tuesday, April 30, as a mark of respect to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister V Srinivas Prasad, who passed away at the age of 77. The BJP leader passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru in the early hours of Monday, April 29, due to age-related ailments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his condolences: “I am extremely pained by the passing away of senior leader and MP from Chamarajanagar, Shri V. Sreenivasa Prasad Ji.”

Also read: BJP MP Sreenivasa Prasad dies at 76

The post further read, “He was a champion of social justice, having devoted his life to the welfare of the poor, downtrodden and marginalised. He was very popular for his various works of community service. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his condolences to V Srinivas Prasad's family and offered floral tribute.

“The Government has declared a holiday in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts as a mark of respect for the sitting MP Srinivas Prasad, and the funeral will be held with state honours,” ANI news agency quoted the Karnataka CM as saying on Monday.

Also read: Karnataka: Former BJP MP Srinivas Prasad assures to support Congress candidates in Mysore, Chamarajanagar for LS polls

Siddaramaiah recalled that when he met the BJP leader 15 days earlier, they discussed politics, and V Srinivas did not seem pleased about it. While speaking to the reporters, the Karnataka CM stated, “A happy moment in politics are very rare. There are few happy moments while struggling for social causes,” reported ANI.

The Chief Minister praised the former Union minister, noting that V Srinivas “did politics with me and was a minister in the cabinet. It is very sad to lose someone who was with me in both the Janata Party and Congress.” Honouring the BJP leader, the CM noted that V Srinivas Prasad was straightforward in his talks and fought against social inequalities.

Also read: Dropping sitting MPs, retaining old horses: Decoding BJP's Karnataka plan for Lok Sabha 2024 polls

All you need to know about V Srinivas Prasad

V Srinivas Prasad was a Dalit leader from the Old Mysuru region. Before joining the BJP in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, he was with the Congress. Due to a political fallout with CM Siddaramaiah, he had joined the BJP.

The BJP MP had stated he would not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha 2024 and assured CM Siddaramaiah that he would appeal to the people to support the Congress candidate. 

(With inputs from ANI)