Bangalore: Congress general secretary, Digvijay Singh successfully convinced a group of disgruntled party MLAs who are demanding cabinet berths, not to create any trouble for the Siddaramaiah government.
While the legislators led by Malikayya Venkayya Guttedar and K.B. Koliwad, claimed that there would be another round of expansion before the Lok Sabha polls on which they were pinning their hopes, there was no confirmation from Singh on this assurance.
On New Year’s day, Congress heavyweights D.K. Shivakumar and Roshan Baig were inducted in the cabinet triggering a flurry of demands for berths. Sources said Singh did some tough talking during one-on-one meetings and told the MLAs not to do anything to upset the party's prospects in their Assembly constituencies with parliament polls round the corner. The party knows ‘when to reward and whom to reward", he told the MLAs who seem to have made a climbdown for now.
Earlier, the Congress leader told reporters that no expansion had happened without hurting the interests of some legislators. "It has happened in the past and now too. It is not a new thing in the Congress. I will explain to them and tell them what the party wants from them," he said.
He defended the inclusion of Shivakumar and Roshan Baig and hit back at the BJP saying its double speak on corruption had been exposed with the reinduction of ‘tainted’ former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. “Congress does not have to learn lessons from them,” he said.
Next: Diggy promise, dissent over?
Diggy promise, dissent over?'
Bangalore: How did Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh manage to placate the disgruntled legislators who had gone public while venting their anger over being left out of the cabinet?
Emerging from the one-on-one meeting, former ministers, K.B. Koliwad, Dr A. B. Malaka Reddy and Malikayya V. Guttedar on Sunday claimed that Singh had assured them that he would recommend their names for the remaining cabinet slots.
Speaking to reporters, they said “ Singh heard us patiently and assured that there was possibility of another round of cabinet expansion before the Lok Sabha polls. So, we are hopeful that we will get into cabinet sooner or later.”
The leaders asserted that they asked him to rectify the regional imbalance in the cabinet as many leaders from North Karanataka region had been left out. “Singh assured us that the regional imbalance in the cabinet will also be raised at an appropriate forum in the party, till then he asked us to be hopeful of getting the post,” the leaders explained.
Before the crucial meeting with Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, over a dozen disgruntled Congress legislators met in Afzalpur legislator Malikayya Venkayya Guttedar’s room at the Legislators’ Home near Vidhana Soudha on Sunday, where they decided to visit Singh in groups to convey their dissatisfaction over the party not considering their services and long standing association with the Congress.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Guttedar said, “We are all senior leaders. We have been winning the Assembly seats for four or five terms. Moreover, we have been associated with the party for a long time.
But still the party has not considered us. I had raised my voice over being left out even when Chief Minster, Siddaramaiah carried out his first cabinet expansion soon after he was sworn in. Even this time, I will keep raising my voice till am inducted into the cabinet.”
He also declared that if the party neglects them, there were chances that disgruntled legislators might ‘neglect’ the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, which might eventually hurt the party’s prospects.
Another senior leader, K.B. Koliwad added that the party cannot afford to overlook the contributions of senior leaders like them and said he would keep demanding a cabinet berth.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the one-on-one meeting with disgruntled legislators, Digvijay Singh remarked that no expansion in the Congress party had happened without hurting some legislators.
“It has happened in the past and now too. This is not a new thing for the Congress. We know how to tackle disgruntled leaders. I have come here to hear their cases individually. I will explain to them the situation and tell them what the party wants from them,” he explained.
