Former Rajya Sabha member H Hanumanthappa no more

CHITRADURGA: Former Rajya Sabha Member from Chitradurga, H Hanumanthappa (95) passed away on Sunday afternoon due to age-related illness. The final rites were held on Monday at Chitradurga.

Hanumanthappa had close ties with former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He was close to the Gandhi family and served as Rajya Sabha member three times. He was chairman of the Central Silk Board twice and was recognized as a national leader in the Congress party.

The mortal remains were kept at his residence in Nehru Nagar until 10 am after which it was shifted to Jayadeva Stadium for the public to pay their last respects. The procession began from his home in Nehru Nagar and tributes were paid by leaders near the district Congress office by former minister H Anjaneya and Congress District President M K Tajpeer, Chitradurga MLA K C Veerendra Puppy among others.

Chief Minister M DK Shivakumar arrived by helicopter along with KPCC president B K Hariprasad and paid final respects in Chitradurga. State honours were presented at the Jayadeva Stadium by the police with a 3-round gun salute as a mark of respect.

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Deputy CM Parameshwara, MLAs T Raghumurthy, K C Veerendra Puppy, N Y Gopalakrishna, MPs Govind Karjol, Prabha Mallikarjun and other dignitaries were present.

“He had immense love for people of all communities. The body may have left, but his ideals live on. H. Hanumanthappa served at the national level. He guided Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi. He fought for agriculture and irrigation projects. Hanumanthappa was our leader who led a simple life. He worked for the construction of the S. Nijalingappa Memorial. Hanumanthappa laid the first step for the Congress party building in the district”, the CM said.

“We, all the MLAs, will decide to pay state honors from the government. May H Hanumanthappa’s soul rest in peace. He did not promote any of his children in politics. He has helped many leaders, I remember. A meeting was held and discussed about the drought prevailing in the state”, Chief Minister Shivakumar recalled.