BENGALURU: Raja Venakatappa Naik, sitting Congress MLA from Shorapura Assembly constituency in Yadgir district, passed away due to a heart attack at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday. He was 67 years old. Naik is survived by his wife and two sons.
The four-time MLA was a close associate of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. He was recently appointed chairman of the Karnataka Warehouse Corporation. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Kharge, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and others paid their condolences. Naik’s last rites will be held with full state honours. Shivakumar said he met Naik four days back when the latter was shifted from the ICU.Video Player is loading.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.621.0_en.html#goog_38433535Close Player
“He wrote in a paper and told me that he would come to attend the Rajya Sabha polls that will be held on Tuesday. It is a sad day for me,” he said. Siddaramaiah, who visited the hospital, said Naik was a cultured politician. He always showed concern for people’s problems. “He was appointed chairperson for the Warehouse Corporation. Unfortunately, he could not work,” the CM said. Naik became MLA in 1994, 1999 and 2013.
The Legislative session, which was supposed to conclude on Monday, has been postponed to Wednesday as the houses will pay tribute to Naik. Siddaramaiah, who was to reply on the budget on Monday, told reporters that as the Rajya Sabha polls will be held on Tuesday, he will put forth his answers on Wednesday.
