Will a memorial be built to honour former Minister and Dalit leader V. Srinivas Prasad, whose last rites were held in Mysuru on Tuesday?
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who paid a visit to Mysuru on Monday evening to pay his last respects to Mr. Prasad at NTM Government School, where his body was kept for public viewing, told reporters that there was a demand for construction of a memorial in honour of the leader.
The Chief Minister said the matter will be take up for discussion after the funeral.
Recalling his last meeting
Mr. Siddaramaiah recalled his last meeting with Mr. Prasad at the latter’s residence in Mysuru on April 12. “We spoke for half an hour about the country’s politics,” the Chief Minister said while adding that he found Mr. Prasad’s memory and mental faculties were sound when he last met him.
Claiming that he did not expect him to pass away so soon, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he went to the private hospital in Bengaluru, where Mr. Prasad had been admitted for treatment. “But, he was unconscious,” he said. However, his family members including his daughter, were hopeful of a recovery.
Praising Mr. Prasad’s willpower, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the departed leader underwent a kidney transplant in January 2013 and had managed for eleven years.
With regard to his April 12 meeting with Mr. Prasad, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he also sought his support for the Congress candidate in Mysuru. But, Mr. Prasad had pointed out that he had retired from politics and made it clear that he will not campaign for either the Congress or the BJP.
When his attention was drawn to Mr. Prasad’s description of the meeting as a “happy occasion”, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was also glad to have met him. “It was a happy moment because we met after several years. I am also satisfied that I met him,” he said adding that both of them were contemporaries in politics and hewas “sad” to lose such a person. He also recalled that he had advised him to take care of the wound in his leg when he last met him.
Pointing out that he and Mr. Prasad were of the same age, both born in August 1947, Mr. Siddaramaiah paid tributes to the struggle of the departed leader against “injustices in the society and for social justice”. His demise is a loss for Karnataka politics, the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also recalled Mr. Prasad’s frank and forthright views and said the departed leader was a follower of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s principles. “I am hurt because of the loss of a friend,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar too arrived in Mysuru on Monday evening to pay his last respects. Recalling the late leader’s long association with the Congress, Mr. Shivakumar said Mr. Prasad always stood behind him in his political career.
