CM Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar pay last respects to Srinivas Prasad

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar paid their final respects to the mortal remains of MP V Srinivas Prasad at the government school in Ashokapuram, Mysuru, on Monday.

Addressing media persons later, the CM expressed his sadness, stating, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of my friend. We were both of the same age group. He was known for his straightforwardness in his political discourse, fighting to eliminate social inequality and serving as the voice of the oppressed."

"He was a follower of Dr B R Ambedkar and a staunch believer in his philosophies. Prasad served as a minister at both the Centre and the State. Victory and defeat are common in politics. He had recently retired from active politics after completing a 50-year political journey. When I met him 15 days ago, he said that he would not campaign for any party. Meeting him after so many years brought me happiness," Siddaramaiah recalled.

"Prasad had great memory power and when I visited him at the hospital recently, he was in a critical condition. I was confident that he would recover. His demise is a huge loss to the state," the CM said.

DCM D K Shivakumar stated that Srinivas Prasad supported him in obtaining a ticket for the assembly elections in 1985. "Except for two terms, he was involved in politics with the Congress party. He consistently supported me. Prasad epitomized friendship. Despite being in different parties, we maintained a cordial relationship. I spoke to him over the phone a few days ago," he said.