Karnataka Congress MLA Raja Venkatappa Naik passes away

The four-time MLA was recently appointed as the Chairman of Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation.

.@INCKarnataka four-time Shorapur MLA Raja Venkatapathy Nayak (66) passed away due to health issues on Sunday.

Chief Minister @siddaramaiah, AICC chief @kharge & other leaders expressed condolences over the demise of the @INCIndia lawmaker.

He had recently taken over as the… pic.twitter.com/8Jgfj88lf0

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) February 25, 2024

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CM paid respects

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the hospital and paid his respects to the departed leader.

Expressing grief over the demise of his “long-time political comrade”, Siddaramaiah said, “I met him three days ago and enquired about his health.”

“The passing away of Raja Venkatappa Naik, a popular personality among the people, is an irreparable loss both personally and to state politics. I pray that may the departed soul rest in peace and his family and fans find strength to bear the pain,” he posted on social media platform X.

ಸುರಪುರದ ಶಾಸಕರು, ಬಹುಕಾಲದ ನನ್ನ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಒಡನಾಡಿ ರಾಜ ವೆಂಕಟಪ್ಪ ನಾಯಕ ಅವರ ನಿಧನದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಅತೀವ ನೋವುಂಟುಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಮೂರು ದಿನದ ಹಿಂದೆಯಷ್ಟೇ ಅವರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿಮಾಡಿ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದ್ದೆ.

ಜನಾನುರಾಗಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವದ ರಾಜಾ ವೆಂಕಟಪ್ಪ ನಾಯಕ ಅವರ ಅಗಲಿಕೆ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜ್ಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ತುಂಬಿಬಾರದ ನಷ್ಟ. ಮೃತರ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ… pic.twitter.com/Fls5GfaRGs

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) February 25, 2024

Expressing grief, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that he knew Naik very well.

“He (Naik)was ever smiling and used to work taking everyone along,” he said in his condolence statement.

Shivakumar expresses condolences

Expressing condolences, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar told reporters: “It is a said incident. Several party leaders including Somashekhar and GC Chandrashekar held talks with him when he was moved to the general ward around four days ago.”

“He had assured us that he will take part in the polling process of the Rajya Sabha elections. The chief minister also enquired about his health. I was confident that he would return home soon, considering the efforts of doctors,” Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar also revealed that the party was planning to field him in the Lok Sabha elections (from Raichur) as well and the party’s poll survey had given a clear report that Venkatappa Naik would emerge victorious.

“He has not hurt a single person. He hailed from one of the prominent families of the Valmiki community. He was my close friend as well,” added the deputy chief minister.

(With PTI inputs)