BENGALURU: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday met three rebel Congres MLAs --Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumtalli and B Nagendra -- in an apparent bid to mollify them and ward off any possible threat to the coalition government.
The meeting came on a day when Umesh Jadhav, another rebel Congress MLA, joined the BJP at Kalaburagi, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally.
Kumaraswamy’s breakfast meeting with the three rebels lasted for over two hours. Over a spread of idlis, vadas, upma and dosas, they discussed issues that would ensure longevity and good health of the ten-month-old Kumaraswamy government.
All the three rebels had been upset with the lack of flow of essential developmental funds for their respective constituencies. Kumaraswamy assured them that these funds would be released immediately. He even ordered his bureaucrats at the spot to ensure that the developmental projects in their constituencies should not suffer for lack of funds.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kumaraswamy said he had gone to the house of an MLA (Jarkhiholi) for breakfast during which various issues were discussed.
Asked if the Congress felt uneasy or threatened that the CM was reaching out to Congress MLAs, KPCC president, Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “He has discussed issues concerning their constituencies’ developmental works. There is nothing wrong with him going. He is the CM of the coalition government. It is a good gesture.’’