Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his loyalist Ministers attending a dinner party at Home Minister G. Parameshwara’s residence in Bengaluru on Friday has stirred a controversy with sources claiming that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was “deliberately kept out” of the meeting.
Sources in the Congress told The Hindu that PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi and Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa attended the dinner meeting and discussed political issues.
Sending a message
The meeting was to send a message to followers of Mr. Shivakumar’s camp, some of whom have again started issuing open statements related to power sharing in the State. The meeting followed Mandya MLA Ravikumar Gowda’s (Ravi Ganiga) statement that Mr. Shivakumar would become the Chief Minister after 2.5 years of rule by Mr. Siddaramaiah.
It is believed that alleged differences between Mr. Jarkiholi and Mr. Shivakumar and issues related to Belagavi politics too have been discussed during the dinner meeting. A few days ago, Mr. Jarkiholi had not met Mr. Shivakuamar when he visited Belagavi. Meanwhile, Mr. Parameshwara said that “there was nothing special” in the Chief Minister’s meeting at his residence. When asked about it in Mangaluru, the Chief Minister too brushed it aside as “no more than dinner meeting.”
‘Last warning and request’
Meanwhile, instructing party MLAs not to make any open statements on matters related to the party’s internal affairs or regarding the administration, Mr. Shivakukumar, who is also KPCC president said: “This is the last warning and request. If such statements are made in the future, issuing notice will be inevitable,” he said.
