Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Monday admitted that a few Congress MLAs in the state were unhappy, but denied that they were blackmailing the party. This comes after former Karnataka Chief Minister and head of the current Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee Siddaramaiah called for a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Karnataka on September 25, after several claims emerged that the BJP-led Opposition was attempting to sway certain leaders of the party in an attempt to overthrow the government.
Addressing the speculation, Parameshwara acknowledged the situation. When questioned as to whether MLA Sudhakar, a three-time Congress MLA from Chikkaballapura, was unhappy, Parameshwara admitted that the MLA was indeed unsatisfied with current proceedings. “I am telling you myself that he is not satisfied and that we will set it right. He is not satisfied with the activities and programmes of his constituency. We will do all the public works that he wants to do,” the Deputy CM said.
There have been rumours that MLA Sudhakar, unhappy with not getting a ministerial berth in the government, was allegedly planning to leave the Congress. The MLA also reportedly met with the BJP recently.
There were also rumours that the MLAs have been blackmailing the party in order to obtain a ministerial berth. Refuting these rumours, the deputy CM clarified that none of the MLAs had resorted to such measures. “No one has done anything like that. If you were MLA wouldn’t you ask to be a minister? He has been MLA twice, is there anything wrong in asking for a chance to be a minister?” he said, referring to MLA Sudhakar.
The threat of dissent began earlier this month with Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi threatening to quit the party. Soon after other party leaders, including his brother Satish Jarkiholi and Anand Singh were also in the news for reportedly planning to resign from the party.
Following these reports, the Congress party is reportedly looking to address them at the Congress Legislature Party meeting to be held on Tuesday at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru.
Several Congress leaders, including Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had met Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj of Hoskote at his residence.
Sources have stated to TNM that Nagaraj, like Sudhakar, has set his sights on a ministerial position.