Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is understood to have expressed concern over “persistent efforts” being made by a section of leaders within the ruling party to defame his government and said that there is a need to expose them.
Speaking at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday, he is learnt to have said that a section of leaders has been trying to spread canards against the government. Though the government has been doing good work, they are not getting highlighted in the media, he said.
KPCC president G Parameshwara did not attend the meeting. The chief minister said that day in and day out, efforts are being made to defame the government. The latest one is a rumour that a group of 30 legislators has written to the Congress high command, criticising the style of functioning of the government.
“It is totally false and far from truth. Efforts should be made to ascertain who is working against the government. We need to expose them,” he stated.
‘You are being watched’
Siddaramaiah, at the same time, is learnt to have said that he recently wrote to all his ministerial colleagues to be prompt in attending to their official work. All ministers have been directed to make themselves available at the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore at least three days a week and hold Karnataka Development Programme meeting in their respective districts every month.
The ministers must take the party legislators into confidence while taking decisions at the district level. There have been complaints from the legislators against the ministers.
“You (ministers) have to be very careful. You are being watched. The KPCC is watching you and it will send a report to the high command. I will also send a separate report on the performance to the high command,” he stated.
The chief minister is also learnt to have said that the CLP meting will be convened every two months to discuss issues related to development. Senior legislator M V Rajashekaran is learnt to have said that proper coordination should be ensured between the government and the party.
A number of party MLAs tried to draw the attention of the chief minister to the problems in their constituencies and urged him to help solve them.
Guv ‘unhappy’ with ministers’ performance
Governor H R Bhardwaj has taken a dig at the style of functioning of some of the ministers in the Siddaramaiah government. But he has kind words for the chief minister, saying that Siddaramaiah is working honestly. The governor was speaking to reporters at the Navy week programme organised in the INS Kadamba naval base at Arga near Karwar on Wednesday. Bhardwaj said he had advised the ministers many times to make amends, but to no avail. The governor said there was no need to acquire private land in Ramanagara for the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences campus. Bhardwaj advocated that the campus be built in Bangalore itself, where there is ample government land. He said already Rs 200 crore had been ‘misused’ for the university. Bhardwaj said the previous government did not heed his advice in this regard. He said only the chief minister was working in the present government and that he had brought the matter to his notice. He felt that the government was needlessly delaying the appointment of vice-chancellors to universities in the State.