Former Minister and president of Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samithi Vaijanath Patil died at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday. He was 81 and is survived by wife, three sons and two daughters.
Patil was suffering from age-related ailments and recently admitted to Fortis Hospital, where he died at about 6 am on Saturday. The final rites will be conducted in his hometown Kalaburagi on Sunday, according to family sources.
He served as Minister for Horticulture in the Ramakrishna Hegde government in 1984 and as Urban Development Minister in the Deve Gowda government in 1994. He was a recipient of an honorary doctorate from Gulbarga University at its 31st Convocation.
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He was instrumental in the Constitutional amendment to insert Article 371(J) that offered special status to Kalyana Karnataka (then Hyderabad Karnataka) region by providing reservations in education and employment the region’s candidates, apart from special grants for the development. While Congress veteran M. Mallikarjun Kharge was at the forefront of efforts inside Parliament, Patil led mass movements on the streets for the special status. The mass movement led by Patil for over two decades and the political efforts led by Mr. Kharge finally resulted in the 118th amendment to the Constitution with the insertion of Clause J to Article 371 offering special status to the region during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre when Mr. Kharge was a Minister in the Union Cabinet.
Even at the age of 81, Patil led an active public life. He had raised his voice whenever he felt there was injustice to the region and its people. He protested against the State government for its “lack of interest” in the proper implementation of Article 371(J) and any anomalies in offering the reservations to region’s candidates in employment and education under it. He had once quit the Cabinet in protest against the government’s apathy towards his region.
In March, he resigned from the primary membership of the Congress protesting against the previous Congress government and Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the State for its “disinterest” in the proper implementation of special status under Article 371(J) of the Constitution.
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Born on July 29, 1938, in an agricultural family at Hakyala village in Aurad taluk, Bidar district, he completed his graduation from BVB Degree College in Bidar and LLB from SSL Law College in Gulbarga.