BENGALURU: The Congress high command on Tuesday pulled up Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar over the recent political developments in Karnataka that caused a big embarrassment to the party.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met the top leaders of the party in New Delhi. Siddaramaiah, however, said that he explained to them that the opposition parties targeted him and his cabinet ministers though they have no role in the alleged scam in the ST development corporation and irregularities in allotment of sites by MUDA.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge held meetings with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar along with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party leaders KC Venugopal and Surjewala at his residence in New Delhi.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are expected to meet the party leaders and some Union ministers on Wednesday.
The CM told reporters that various issues were discussed and they informed the party high command about the “revenge” politics by BJP and JDS in Karnataka. “I told them that they are targeting me personally over the alleged MUDA and ST corporation scams.” He expressed confidence that the high command will stand by him.
Siddaramaiah said he and Shivakumar told the party leaders about the “injustice” done to Karnataka in the Union budget.
Meanwhile, Kharge posted on social media that he and other leaders met the CM and DCM and discussed steps to strengthen the policies of the Congress government in Karnataka to ensure social justice, empowerment of the poor and the downtrodden and comprehensive development of the state.
CM, DCM meet Defence Minister
“The ideals and ideas of Basavanna and Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar shall remain the foundation of Karnataka’s development,” he posted. Earlier during the meeting, Kharge is said to have expressed displeasure over the recent political developments in Karnataka, which were even debated at the national level.
Kharge also reviewed a report submitted by a three-member committee headed by senior Congress general secretary Madusudan Mistry on the party’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state. Later, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Meanwhile, sources said Rahul and Kharge discussed various issues faced by the Congress in Karnataka. They also discussed the legal implications of the ST corporation and MUDA cases.