Karnataka minister Mahadeva Prasad passes away

Karnataka`s Cooperation and Sugar Minister HS Mahadeva Prasad, who had a bypass surgery four or five years ago, had not shown any sign of illness before he left for Chikkamagaluru.

Bengaluru: Karnataka`s Cooperation and Sugar Minister HS Mahadeva Prasad died on early Tuesday in sleep after a massive cardiac arrest at a resort near Chikkamagaluru.

Prasad was 58 and leaves behind his wife Gita and son Ganesh Prasad.

"Prasad went to Chikkamagaluru on Monday evening to attend the golden jubilee of a cooperative society on Tuesday. When he did not wake up even till 8 a.m., a doctor was summoned to the guest house who declared him dead," an official told IANS here.

Koppa is about 30 km from Chikkamagaluru, which is located 280 km from Bengaluru.

The state government declared a public holiday for Tuesday in all offices, schools, colleges and banks and a three-day mourning.

A lawmaker from Gundulpete, about 250 km from Bengaluru, Prasad was elected for the fifth consecutive term on a Congress ticket in May 2013.

He was also a lawmaker and minister in the erstwhile Janata Dal-Secular and BJP coalition governments in 2005-07.

"I am shocked at the sudden demise of Prasad, who was my close friend and a long-term associate in the Janata parivar," said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Prasad, who had a bypass surgery four or five years ago, had not shown any sign of illness before he left for Chikkamagaluru, an official said.