BENGALURU: The Congress leadership on Wednesday intensified efforts to contain growing dissent triggered by the Karnataka Cabinet expansion, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala personally reaching out to disgruntled legislators.
As resentment mounted among leaders denied ministerial berths, the party leadership rushed to their residences, held marathon discussions and sought to assuage them to prevent the crisis from deepening.
Senior Congress MLA M. Krishnappa is among those who expressed disappointment after missing out on a Cabinet berth. In a bid to pacify him, Surjewala flew in from New Delhi and visited Krishnappa’s residence in Bengaluru’s Vijayanagar locality for discussions.
Chief Minister Shivakumar also visited the residences of senior leader M. Krishnappa and his son, Priya Krishna, in Vijayanagar, where he held talks aimed at addressing their concerns and persuading them to remain with the party leadership.
M. Krishnappa and his son Priya Krishna, both MLAs, had expected the party to provide an opportunity to at least one of them. The leaders are expected to visit many more dissatisfied legislators who had taken a hard stance against the party after being denied Cabinet berths.
Meanwhile, Indi MLA Yashavantharayagouda Patil, who had resigned from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly after being denied a ministerial berth, withdrew his resignation following sustained efforts by the Congress leadership.
Patil had initially maintained that he would not withdraw his resignation under any pressure. However, Shivakumar spoke to him over the phone and ensured senior Congress leaders, Minister Laxman Savadi and Vinay Kulkarni, visited his residence and held discussions to convince him to reconsider his decision.
The Congress leadership is said to have assured Patil that priority would be given to the development of his constituency, following which he agreed to withdraw his resignation. Patil later sent a letter through his close associates to the Speaker’s office, requesting that his resignation not be accepted. With this, he will continue as an MLA, marking a significant success for the Congress leadership in containing post-expansion dissent.
Amid the Opposition’s criticism of the Cabinet expansion, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President B.K. Hariprasad launched a sharp counterattack against the BJP.
Questioning the BJP’s record, Hariprasad asked, “Who was involved in suitcase politics, briefcase politics and Operation Lotus? Who took 16 Congress and JD(S) MLAs to Mumbai?”
Referring to the political developments that led to the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019, he remarked, “Did the ‘Bombay Boys’ carry gunny bags with them?”
Taking a swipe at BJP leaders, he said, “How many crores are Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka worth? Don’t make me their chartered accountant.”
Continuing his attack, Hariprasad alleged that whenever BJP leaders speak, “it is filled with filth and negativity,” and accused the Opposition of having no understanding of social justice, stating that “the BJP leaders in the Opposition do not know what social justice means.”
