BENGALURU: Former external affairs minister S.M. Krishna counselled restraint and to desist from airing emotionally charged statements when former ministers and rebel legislators Dr A. B. Malaka Reddy and Qamarul Islam met him at his residence here on Tuesday.
Dr Malaka Reddy and Mr Islam, both hailing from Hyderabad-Karnataka region and former cabinet colleagues of Mr Krishna, told the media later that the veteran leader gave them a patient hearing and suggested that they should not act in haste.
Dr Reddy said: “Mr Krishna has suggested that we should not act in a hurry and also advised us not to act in a manner that will put the party’s interests in jeopardy in the near future. Therefore, I have decided to wait and keep a close watch on political developments in the state.”
In response to a question, he said he would certainly vote in favour of the party's candidate during the election of a new Speaker scheduled to be held on July 5.
“We (disgruntled leaders) are surely going to meet on a regular basis to discuss strategies on how to convey our dissatisfaction about the manner in which the ruling party is moving,” he added.
On his part, Mr Mr Islam: “I met Mr Krishna and told him everything about how badly I have been treated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He expressed his sympathies and advised me to remain patient. He said he would leave for New Delhi after celebrating Ramzan festivities to seek justice from central leaders of the party.
Meanwhile, former minister M H Ambareesh’s bête noire from Mandya district, Ravindra Srikantaiah, too met Mr Krishna and later slammed the actor-politician. “People of the state and Mandya in particular immensely liked Mr Ambreesh as an ator but the same cannot be said about him as politician. He is a big failure as a politician. Mandya district had always stood ahead of entire state in terms of launch of various welfare schemes. But after Mr Ambreesh's emergence, Mandya has turned out be the most backward district,” he added.
