Veteran Congress leader and former union minister M V Rajasekharan died at a private hospital here on Monday after a prolonged illness, family sources said.
The 91-year-old, who had served as a Lok Sabha member, MLC and Minister of State for Planning in the Manmohan Singh government, was ailing from old age related health issues.
Son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister S Nijalingappa, he is survived by wife Girija Rajasekharan, two sons and two daughters.
An agriculturist and a noted rural development consultant, he was born on September 12, 1928 at Maralawadi in Ramanagara district.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President D K Shiva Kumar were among those who paid their homage to Rajasekharan, a Gandhian known for value-based politics.
Describing Rajasekharan as a politician with simplicity, humility and great maturity, Yediyurappa said the departed leader was an authority on rural economy and noted that he had set up an institute for rural development studies.