Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Minister V S Acharya passed away

Bangalore: Senior BJP leader Karnataka higher education minister VS Acharya (71) passed away here. Acharya who was attending a function in the city collapsed on the dais and was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead. He is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter..

A long line of visitors, with politicians cutting across parties, paid their respect to the leader. Teary eyed chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda said that the state and the nation had lost a great leader.

A medical practitioner by profession, Dr Vedavyasa Srinivasa Acharya was a rare politician known for his integrity and public probity.A gentleman and a long time member of the BJP, Acharya earlier held the portfolio of Home Ministry before being shifted as the Higher education minister. Known for strong integrity and honesty, Acharya was one of the few people responsible for the formation of the first non-Congress government in Karnataka in 1983.

He started his political carreer as President of Udupi Municipality at the age of 28 in 1968, playing a key role in bringing the erstwhile Jana Sangh to power. In later years, he became the Udupi district BJP President and State BJP President. During the mergency in 1975-77 he was imprisoned under ‘MISA’ for 19 months. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1983.

The government declared a three-day mourning and a day’s holiday today in Bangalore Urban, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts as mark of respect to Acharya.

 

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