Mandya: Promising to be a hands-on people's respresentative, Ms Sumalatha Ambareesh, who was elected Member of Parliament from Mandya in the recent Lok Sabha poll, said on Tuesday that she intended to visit the constituency three days in a week to address its problems.
Participating in an official function here, she said she would open an office soon in Mandya city and recruit staff to meet people on her behalf. "I have already rented a house in Mandya where I will meet the people of the constituency three days in a week. Besides, I will visit every taluk to study its problems and find solutions," she promised.
Underlining that the people of the constituency were her priority, she said there was no question of neglecting them when she was indebted to them for reposing their faith in her and electing her with a big margin. "I will be your voice in the Lok Sabha. You have given me a responsibility and I will discharge it honestly," she assured, adding that she would first tackle the water crisis and drought in the district. "This is not a time to play politics and waste time in replying to criticisms," she asserted.
Asked about Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy's 'grama vastavya', Ms Sumalatha refused to comment, saying he was only doing his job and she didn't want to talk about it. On complaints that she often did not answer her phone, she said it was not possible to take calls when she was attending a meeting or inside parliament.
Meanwhile, despite exchanging barbs with Ms Sumalatha during the Lok Sabha poll, Mandya MLA, Srinivas and other JD(S) leaders shared the dais with her at the government sponsored function.
