Karnataka Congress MLA and former minister H Y Meti died Tuesday at a private hospital in Bengaluru while undergoing treatment for health issues. He was 79.
Condoling the death of the senior Congress leader, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the MLA was close to him and breathed his last at 12.30 pm. Recalling that he had met Meti at the hospital three days ago, Siddaramaiah said there were signs of improvement in his health at that time.
Meti, a five-time legislator, was representing the Bagalkot constituency for the second time, having previously represented it between 2013 and 2018. Before that, he was elected three times from the now-defunct Guledgud constituency – in 1989, 1994, and 2004 – as a member of the Janata Dal.
Meti served as excise minister during the previous Congress government, but had to step down in 2016 owing to a controversy. He was also the forest minister when the Janata Dal was in power from 1994 to 1998.
CM Siddaramaiah said Meti hailed from an agrarian family and served well as a Cabinet minister in previous governments. “The demise of a loyal leader has saddened me. This is a personal loss,” he said in a statement.
Meti’s remains will be shifted to Bagalkot and will be laid to rest with state honors. He is survived by wife, two sons, and two daughters.
Union Heavy Industries and Steel minister H D Kumaraswamy also condoled the demise. In a post on X, he said, “I am deeply saddened after hearing about the demise of former minister and sitting MLA of the Bagalkot constituency, Shri H Y Meti. In 1994, he contested from the Guledgudd constituency on a Janata Dal ticket and won twice. He also served as the Forest Minister in the cabinet of Shri H D Deve Gowda. May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may God grant strength to his family members and admirers to bear this grief.”