Former Karnataka Minister B.C. Nagesh, 65, of the Bharatiya Janata Party, passed away on Tuesday. He passed away at his daughter’s house in Bengaluru after a brief illness.

A two-time MLA from Tiptur, he was Minister for School Education and Literacy between 2021 and 2023, in THE Basavaraj Bommai-led Cabinet.

He had a stormy tenure, as the textbook revision carried out during his tenure faced allegations of saffronisation and turned controversial, and another controversy over not allowing girl students to wear hijab inside classrooms broke out.

Trained as an engineer, Mr. Nagesh was active in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during his student days and later joined the BJP. He won twice from Tiptur in 2008 and 2018.

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra condoled his death and said he was a man of simplicity, ideological commitment and was known for his pro-people stances. "His contributions to the party as an MLA, Minister and to the State through the reforms he brought as the education minister of the state are immense,” he said.

His body will be kept in Jagannath Bhavan at Malleswaram from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and the final rites will be conducted at Tiptur later in the day.