Speaking on the occasion, former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachalaiah recalled moments spent with the leading stock broker of the State at that time. “When there was a land litigation case, Venkaji Rao was very anxious about winning the case and used to call me three times a day. I had asked him not to interfere too much and later when I won the case, he was a little surprised,” he said.

Calling him a mystic man, Venkatachalaiah said he played a very crucial role in guarding the democracy of the State.

Venkaji Rao was an active member of the State legislature and as director of the Karnataka Chambers of Commerce he contributed to the development of trade and commerce in the State.

He promoted a number of educational institutions among which are Bangalore High School and Vijaya College -where he took personal interest in running them efficiently.

His son and daughter-in-law L S Prabhakar and Geetha Prabhakar are the directors of Lokkur Stocks and Shares Private Limited. Former MP V S Krishna Iyer, former union minister and MLC M V Rajashekharan, noted litterateur Prof G Venkatasubbaiah and MLA B N Vijaykumar were present on the occasion.