BENGALURU: Co-ordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah, who has set out on a damage control mission over the growing resentment following cabinet expansion, seems to have been able to placate at least one disgruntled leader as of now. Former minister and BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy, who had openly expressed his unhappiness over his non-inclusion in the cabinet, met Siddaramaiah, on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Reddy said, “Though there were some shortcomings in the recent expansion of the state cabinet, all the issues have been addressed satisfactorily.”
In the wake of his non-inclusion in the cabinet, Reddy’s supporters were protesting in the city over the past three days. On Monday, they had even blocked the Hosur highway for over an hour. Reddy’s daughter and Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy too had rejected her appointment as Parliamentary secretary by the state government.
“There are some compulsions (for Congress) as a coalition government is ruling the state. We would not have faced any issues if we had formed the government on our own,” Reddy added.To a question on some corporators threatening to resign from the BBMP, he dismissed the same, saying that no corporator would resign from his post.“I am not the only leader with influence in Bengaluru. All MLAs from Bengaluru are united and I am just taking them along,” he said.
To a question, the former minister denied having spoken to former Union minister and BJP leader SM Krishna, and BJP MLAs Krishnappa and Satish Reddy. Meanwhile, newly appointed Karnataka State Pollution Control Board chairman Dr Sudhakar and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao also met the former chief minister at his residence in the city.
Dr Sudhakar told reporters that he had already communicated his dissatisfaction over various issues in the past, and had met Siddaramaiah to wish him for Christmas. “It was a courtesy visit and political issues were not discussed,” he said, adding that he would also hold discussions with AICC general secretary KC Venugopal when he visits Bengaluru.