D H Shankaramurthy

Biography

Shankaramurthy was born on 30 April 1940 at Shimoga in a middle-class family. His parents were Sri.Hanumanthappa and Smt.Kamakshamma. He graduated in Science from Bangalore University. He married Smt.D.S.Sathyavati and the couple have 2 sons, D.S. Kiran and D S Arun. His younger son Arun is presently the general secretary of Shimoga District BJP.

He is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Nationalist Social Organization since 1966. Later, He joined the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also, served as District General Secretary and State General Secretary of the party. He actively participated in "Bangla Sathyagraha" and underwent imprisonment in ‘Tihar Jail’. During the Emergency, he was detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act for 19 months in the prison at Belgaum. In 1980 he became the first state General Secretary of the BJP. He unsuccessfully contested the 1978 state elections and the 1980 general elections from Shimoga.

He was the Chairman of the Karnataka Milk Federation in 1984 and rendered yeomen service for the promotion of Milk and other dairy products.

For the first time he was elected as Member of Karnataka Legislative Council from the South West Graduates Constituency in 1988. Since then, he has been continuously elected for four more terms in 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2012.

He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 2002 to 2006. During this period, he discharged his responsibilities in a highly disciplined manner and upheld the prestige of the House.

In February 2006, he became a Cabinet Minister in the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government and handled the prestigious Higher Education portfolio. He was instrumental in approving and starting of 184 Degree Colleges and thus bringing about a radical change in the educational infrastructure in the State and also, streamlined the Higher Education department to make it competitive and effective.

Following the victory of the BJP in Karnataka in May 2008, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board (an Apex Advisory body of the Government). He oversaw the creation of a document called "Karnataka Vision - 2020" which gave a new direction to the all-round development of the State. Under his guidance, the SPB was restructured with more powers and responsibilities along the lines of the Planning Commission of India.

He was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council on 5 July 2010. He is hailed across party lines for his honesty, integrity and intellect and is one of the most respected leaders in the State.