Bantwal: Urimajalu K. Ram Bhat (92), former MLA from Puttur, passed away on Monday December 6 at his residence in Kombettu. He was suffering from old age-related illnesses.
During his high school, Bhat was a dedicated RSS worker. He had worked to make Puttur the strong fort of Hindutva. Senior leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani had close rapport with him.
Bhat was an advocate, trustee of the Puttur Mahalingeshwara Temple, President of the municipal council, President of Campco, pillar of the Puttur Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha, Puttur MLA and was also known as the ‘Bheeshma’ of BJP.
He was imprisoned for opposing the emergency declared by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. While imprisoned, he taught Kannada to L. K. Advani.
His opinions were important in the BJP’s activities. He used to be In-Charge of finalising the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Sangh Parivar relied on his projects to gain power in the cooperative sector. During disagreements between party officials and activists, he used to make compromises.
