From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 6: In a bid to quell any possible tussle for Chief Ministerial gaddi ahead of next year’s assembly poll battle in Karnataka, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal had issued a stern warning to all ruling party leaders not to project anybody for the Chief Minister’s post even though the elections will be fought under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Venugopal, who is also the ruling Congress party’s in-charge for the State, on Friday made it clear that the Congress already decided to go to elections under the leadership of Siddaramaiah.
"The party high command and legislators would decide the next CM after elections if the party secured a majority,"
Venugopal said at a meeting of the Congress Legislators’ Party (CLP) in Bengaluru on Friday.
He directed all the legislators not to make unnecessary controversy over the CM’s candidate.
Venugopal told legislators to refrain from speaking in the public on the names of the Chief Ministerial candidate during run-up to poll campaign.
Giving a pep talk to all the Congress legislators, he instructed MLAs to work hard and take the Government’s programmes to the doorsteps of each household in their constituencies to stage a comeback.
Frequent flooding in many parts of the city due to incessant rains, battered roads, deaths due to potholes in the city which are making headlines in national and international media has rankled the Congress high command, informed sources said.
The AICC General Secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state took up the issue strongly with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the ministers from the city here on Friday.
He had an exclusive meeting with Home Minister B Ramalinga Reddy on the progress in investigation into the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and wanted the killers to be brought to justice at the earliest.
The tough talk from Venugopal has had its impact immediately as the Chief Minister has convened an exclusive meeting to discuss issues related to Bengaluru on Saturday morning.
Venugopal is said to have expressed concern at the adverse public opinion that is building in the city against Siddaramaiah government due to the continuous inconvenience being suffered by people in many parts of the city due to incessant rains in the city, the pothole-riddled roads have made motorists curse the state government and the civic agencies as reflected in local and national media.
The Chief Minister has convened an exclusive meeting to discuss the civic problems of Bengaluru on Saturday.
Apart from ministers from the city, the meeting would be attended by top officials of all the civic agencies of the city including BBMP, BDA, BWSSB and BESCOM.
Desilting of the clogged storm water drains, clearing encroachments on storm water drains, immediate measures to stop flooding of the residential areas, filling potholes on a war footing are among the issues coming up for discussion at the meeting.
With Bengaluru accounting for 28 Assembly seats out of the 224 in the state, Venugopal reportedly asked the Chief Minister and the city ministers to pull up their socks immediately.