DAVANAGERE: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday clarified that no political issues were discussed at the recent dinner meeting he had with his cabinet colleagues.
“The media is just cooking things up. Is it wrong when some people get together for dinner?” he asked reporters.
Siddaramaiah’s dinner meeting with select Dalit cabinet ministers at the house of PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Thursday, and in the absence of Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who is abroad, has set political circles abuzz with speculation of leadership change.
“The media and some people simply give a political colour if politicians come together for dinner while it is not the case for others,” he said.
To a question about changing the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Siddaramaiah said, “It will be decided by the high command, not us. The KPCC president, chief minister - everything is decided by the high command,” he said.
Speaking on the 15% hike in bus fares, the CM said this was done for the first time in five years. Inflation has increased and so has the prices of diesel and salaries in the transport corporations. So, the hike in fares was inevitable, he said.
“There was also a demand to increase the bus fares for a long time, so we took this decision. Bus fares were increased long ago, and as we were told that all our road transport corporations are in distress, and as there was a long standing demand, we have increased it.”
Questioning whether there was no hike when BJP or Kumaraswamy was in power, the CM said, “Let them say they had not increased fares. Hasn’t the central government increased railway fares?” The revised bus fares, hiked by 15 per cent across the board, came into effect at midnight on Saturday, amidst stiff criticism from opposition parties and various sections.