Senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader K. Amarnath Shetty passed away at the A.J. Hospital and Research Institute here on Monday.
Mr. Shetty, 80, had been admitted to the hospital a fortnight ago. He leaves behind wife and two daughters.
He joined Janata Party in 1977 and was MLA for Mulki-Moodbidri for three terms — 1983, 1987, and 1994. He was Minister for Labour and also held Muzrai and Agriculture portfolios. For a brief while he was with Ramakrishna Hegde’s Rashtriya Navanirmana Vedike before joining Janata Dal (S).
Mr. Shetty was actively participating in JD(S) activities and had been its face in Dakshina Kannada district.
Many leaders, including JD(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda and Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari, among others, paid their last respects to Mr. Shetty at his Moodbidri residence on Monday.
Former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily described Mr. Shetty as a mass leader and gram swaraj visionary who developed rural areas by providing primary health centres, schools, and village roads.
The cremation would be conducted at his ancestral place near Moodbidri on Tuesday.
