Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former Union Minister V Srinivasa Prasad passed on Monday at the age of 76, family sources said. The veteran politician, a Lok Sabha member from Karnataka's Chamarajnagar, was ailing for some time and undergoing treated at a private hospital, where he passed away early Monday.
Srinivasa Prasad served as the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2004.
He was a six-time MP from Chamarajanagar and also served as MLA from Nanjangud in Mysuru district for two terms.
On March 18 this year, Prasad announced his retirement from electoral politics, marking his 50 years in public life.
He first contested Assembly elections as an independent in 1974.
Prasad is survived by wife and three daughters.
Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on microblogging platform X that the leader "was a champion of social justice, having devoted his life to the welfare of the poor, downtrodden and marginalised."
"I am extremely pained by the passing away of senior leader and MP from Chamarajanagar, Shri V. Sreenivasa Prasad Ji. 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," PM Modi said in his X post.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah described Prasad as a strong voice for the oppressed Dalits.
"The departure of the leader who lived the struggle against injustice and inequality is a big setback for the political struggle for social justice in the state," he added.
"He was a progressive-thinking political leader. Although we worked in different parties for a long time in old Mysuru region, we maintained a respectful relationship with each other. When I met him recently, we reminisced. I never thought Prasad would leave us so soon," the CM said.
He returned to the Congress fold later, got elected as an MLA in 2013 and became Revenue Minister in the Siddaramaiah government.
In 2016, Prasad resigned from the Assembly and rejoined the BJP. He contested the 2017 Nanjangud bypolls on a BJP ticket but lost. He then successfully fought the Lok Sabha election from Chamarajanagar in 2019.
