Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister R.L. Jalappa passed away in Kolar on December 17 following age-related issues. He was 96.
He is survived by four daughters and three sons.
Born on October 19, 1925, Mr. Jalappa was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chickballapur constituency on the Janata Dal ticket in 1996 and became the Union Minister for Textiles in the governments headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. He later joined the Congress and was re-elected from the same constituency in 1998, 1999, and 2004. He served as member of several parliamentary committees.
Mr. Jalappa was in the Congress till 1979. He quit the party to form the Karnataka Kranti Ranga with the former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs and was recognised as a prominent OBC leader. In 1980, the party merged with the Janata Party. He again joined the Congress in 1998.
He entered the State legislature as a member of the Legislative Council in 1980 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Janata Party in 1983 from the Doddaballapur constituency. He served as the Minister for Cooperation and Home in the Ramakrishna Hegde-led Government.
Mr. Jalappa was arrested by the CBI in 1987 in a case related to murder of advocate Rasheed. The Hegde-led Government permitted a CBI probe against Mr. Jalappa. He was acquitted in the case. Later, he was the Revenue Minister in the Deve Gowda-led Government in Karnataka.
Mr. Jalappa was chairman of Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar, and R.L. Jalappa Institute of Technology, Doddaballapur. He founded both institutions.
Mr. Jalappa’s son J. Narasimha Swamy was the Congress MLA in 2004 and 2008 from Doddaballapur constituency. Later, he joined the BJP.
Honours
The State government honoured Mr. Jalappa with the D. Devaraj Urs Award in 2015 for his contribution in the field of education and development. The award was presented to Mr. Jalappa during the birth centenary celebrations of Devaraj Urs.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, State Cabinet Ministers, Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar and several others have mourned Mr. Jalappa.
