Ambi taken to task for handing over Congress cheque to JD(S) MP

 AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh is believed to have taken district in-charge minister M H Ambareesh to task for handing over a cheque for Rs one lakh, issued by the KPCC for the family of deceased farmer Lokesh at Sanabadakopplau, to C S Puttaraju, the JD(S) MP.

It is a known fact in the political circles that Puttaraju is very close to Ambareesh, despite their affiliation to different parties. Political analysts had commented during the Assembly polls itself that he (Ambi) played a vital role in fielding weak Congress candidates in Melkote and Srirangapatna Assembly constituencies to help his friends in the JD(S).  While Ramesh Babu managed to win from Srirangapatna, Puttaraju, however, lost to K S Puttannaiah.

Again, during the Lok Sabha polls, political pundits had claimed that the wave in favour of Congress candidate Ramya would tilt in favour of JD(S) nominee Puttaraju on the day Ambareesh gave a grand entry to Mandya district after recovering from a hospital in Singapore. Predictably, Ramya lost the polls.

Now, the secret alliance between Ambareesh and his supporters in other parties has come to the fore with his handing over the KPCC cheque to Puttaraju, said sources, who were witness to the dressing down.

AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to visit the house of Madegowda, who had committed suicide at Kothathi on July 25. But he could not visit Kothathi after the tour itinerary was changed at the last minute following the suicide of a farmer from Sanabadakoppalu on Thursday. At Sanabadakopplau, KPCC president G Parameshwara handed over the cheque for Rs one lakh to Ambareesh, asking him to pass it over to the family of Lokesh. Ambareesh delegated the responsibility to Puttaraju, said sources.

Digvijaya Singh learnt that the residents of Kothathi were angry as Rahul Gandhi skipped their village. “So, Singh asked Ambareesh, could he not visit the family of the victim in Kothathi, in the capacity of district in-charge minister, if Rahul Gandhi could not make it, and convince the villagers? He asked if there were no leaders in the Congress, who can hand over the cheque to the family of the victim,” sources said.