DKS says he did not bring Odisha Congress MLAs to Bengaluru

DK Shivakumar said that the MLAs came on their own and arrangements were made only after the Odisha party chief informed him of their visit.

DCM DK Shivakumar poses with the Odisha Congress MLAs in Bengaluru on Friday. (Photo | Special Arrangement)

BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also state Congress president, said on Friday that he did not bring the Odisha Congress MLAs to Bengaluru and that they had come on their own.

He told reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, “I don’t know why they have come. The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president called me to tell me that they are coming to Bengaluru.

They wanted a comfortable place and we arranged it. I have been doing this since the days of the Vilas Rao Deshmukh government (in Maharashtra). I have done it on many occasions, including for Ahmed Patel’s RS election in Gujarat.”

When pointed out that he is a trouble-shooter for the party, but the party is yet to resolve his issue of becoming the chief minister, he said, “Time will decide.”

Asked if the party had delegated the responsibility of safeguarding the Odisha MLAs to him, he said, “No responsibility has been given. The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president called me about this and I welcomed them as our guests.”