Former Karnataka Urban Development Minister Vaijanath Patil passes away at 81

Vaijanath Patil, former Minister and popular social leader who fought for the special status for Kalyana Karnataka (Hyderabad Karnataka) region, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday. He was 81 and was suffering from illness.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa expressed his condolences by meeting Vaijanath's family at Fortis Hospital in the city, where the former minister was admitted recently.

He passed away at around 6 am on Saturday. His family members said that the final rites will be conducted in his hometown of Kalaburagi on Sunday.

Vaijanath was a two-time minister and president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samithi.

Vaijanath was key to the Constitutional amendment that offered special status to Kalyana Karnataka (erstwhile Hyderabad Karnataka) region by inserting Article 371 (J). The amendment provided special reservations in education and employment for people of the region. It also accorded special grants for development.

A special board called the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board was constituted for the upliftment of the region.The region comprises Bidar, Ballari, Kalburgi, Raichur, Koppal and Yadgir districts of Karnataka. Vaijanath led mass movements in the region calling for the special status for over a decade before the amendment was introduced in 2013.

He served as the Minister of Horticulture in the Ramakrishna Hegde government in 1984. He was also the Urban Development Minister in the government led by HD Deve Gowda in 1994. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and three sons.

Vaijanath was born in Aurad taluk of Bidar and attended college in Bidar, and later in Kalaburagi (then Gulbarga).