The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting scheduled for Tuesday is all set to turn into a grievance redressal forum of sorts, with party legislators likely to stake their claims to Cabinet berths and discuss other problems faced by them in the coalition dispensation.
The CLP is being held amidst perceived threat of dissident activities by some Congress legislators over Cabinet berths. However, with AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal having issued a stern warning on Sunday to disgruntled legislators that blackmail techniques will not be tolerated, sources said is it unlikely that any legislator will abstain from attending the meeting.
Also, the meeting was initially planned assuming there will be a contest in the byelection to the Legislative Council on October 4 with the Bharatiya Janata Party also throwing its hat in the ring. But with the BJP deciding not to field anyone, that has now blown over.
“Although we were confident that none of our MLAs will defect and cross-vote, we wanted to motivate our MLAs to put up a tough fight. But now there is no such necessity as the BJP has run away from the field on its own. They have realised that the party is in no position to muster the numbers and may be in for embarrassment like it happened during the vote of confidence,” Mr. Venugopal told The Hindu on Monday.
He said the legislators will be given freedom to speak out their problems relating to constituencies or those that need coordination between the coalition partners. “I have asked CLP leader Siddaramaiah, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara to address the legislators’ grievances. If there is anything that needs to be addressed beyond their level, it will be taken up by the Coordination Committee,” Mr. Venugopal said.
Yeddyurappa’s call
Blaming the BJP for “stooping too low” to disturb the coalition government, Mr. Venugopal alleged that the BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa had made a WhatsApp call to Kundgol MLA Channabasappa S. Shivalli offering money and power to cross over to the BJP. “The BJP should have realised by now that our MLAs are not up for sale. They are trying all possible ways to disturb the coalition but will never succeed,” he said.
Caste equations
Meanwhile, legislators eyeing ministerial berths continued lobbying. K. Sudhakar, Chickballapur MLA, and M.T.B. Nagaraj, Hoskote MLA, are prominent among those who are keen on the berths. Sources in the party said caste equations will have to be worked out before deciding on the candidates. “While one Kuruba will be accommodated, the party has to choose between Mr. Shivalli and Mr. Nagaraj. With both being three-time MLAs belonging to the same community, the choice is tough,” sources said.
Asked about this, Mr. Venugopal said deciding on the candidature of any MLA is a tough choice. “The high command will take a call,” he added.
