Mysuru: Rich tributes were paid in city to former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar who passed away recently. A “Nudi Namana” programme “Ananth Kumarji Amar Rahe” was organised last evening at Sarada Vilas Centenary Hall where speakers hailed the late leader’s contribution to the growth of Karnataka and Mysuru in particular.

Noted Kannada novelist and Padma Shri awardee S.L. Bhyrappa said that Ananth Kumar never desired publicity and used to do his work far from public limelight. Ananth Kumar had carved a niche for himself in politics and he worked hard to strengthen BJP in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. He said that Ananth Kumar was very popular, dynamic leader of the poor and downtrodden.

Providing many instances, the Saraswathi Samman author described Ananth Kumar as a humanist first who had great pride in Kannada land and Kannada language. “He was a seasoned parliamentarian who served the nation in several capacities. His passion and devotion for the welfare of people was commendable,” Bhyrappa said.

Former Minister and Dalit leader V. Sreenivasa Prasad recalled the incident where despite his ill health Ananth Kumar spoke about former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (when the former PM passed away) for over 45 minutes.

“Ananth Kumar was one of the popular leaders who rose to the national level but was still attached to his roots. This is the reason why he was elected unopposed for 6 times and served as a Union Minister for over 10 years,” Prasad said.

MLA S.A. Ramdas said that Ananth Kumar had contributed enormously to the development of Mysuru. He was the driving force behind the new Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Mysore Airport, Post Office Passport Seva Kendra and Jan Aushad Kendras.

MLA L. Nagendra, Dakshina Prantha Sanghchalak of RSS M. Venkataram, former MLCs Thontadharya and G. Madhusudhan, Industrialists R. Guru and Gopinath Shenoy, BJP State Organising Secretary Arun Kumar, former MLA Bharathishankar, District Co-operative Movement President H.V. Rajeev, Corporator B.V. Manjunath, Mysuru District Brahmins Association President D.T. Prakash, BJP leader and advocate Arun Kumar and others were present on the occasion.