BENGALURU: Ramesh Kumar has proved his prowess in controlling the House time and time again. He could leave the House dumbfounded or the members in splits, with his tact and wit. Never before has the Assembly seen such a rare combination in the Chair. Wherever Ramesh Kumar goes, he is known as ‘Speaker Ramesh Kumar’. Ramesh Kumar has served as Speaker before -- for the first time in 1994 when he was just 43, and the second time for 14 months and four days, ending Monday.
Former minister M Raghupathy, who has known him for over 50 years, said, “Ramesh Kumar was elected to the assembly six times and has been in the Congress for most of his career, except for a period when he moved to the Janata Parivar for a few years, and is very close to the Congress and JDS. Kumar is a voracious reader and all that knowledge came of use as a Speaker, when he engaged the house with his wit and humour.’’ Ramesh has confessed to his love for South Indian food. “Ragi mudde and naati koli are among his favourite foods.
Most of his friends treat him to these dishes whenever he visits,” said the former minister. Kumar learnt things the hard way, and he is what he is today thanks to these experiences. He faced legal challenges in the past when serious charges were pressed against him, but he has been acquitted of all those charges. He has been an actor and played the role of a CM in a tele-serial. He served as minister only for two years in his career, when he was health minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet. He is the man who has been working on getting waters from Yettinahole to Kolar and Chikkaballapura.