D K Shivakumar complains to Venugopal against CM Siddaramaiah’s dinner meeting

Shivakumar, who was closeted with Venugopal on Monday night for more than 45 minutes, told him that unless such meetings were stopped immediately, it would give scope to political rumours, sources in the Congress said.

Amid Chief Minister Siddaramaiah holding a dinner meeting with his ministers and legislators close to him, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal here and reportedly requested the Central leader to put a break to such meetings.

Shivakumar, who was closeted with Venugopal on Monday night for more than 45 minutes, told him that unless such meetings were stopped immediately, it would give scope to political rumours, sources in the Congress told DH.

The DyCM was in the national capital for the past two days and addressed a press conference along with leaders on the Delhi Assembly polls and announced freebies.

The DyCM also brought the dinner meeting to the notice of Karnataka incharge general secretary Randeep Surjewala and requested him to warn leaders who give public statements on party affairs.

Expressing unhappiness over the CM’s dinner meeting and several leaders loyal to Siddaramaiah giving statements on appointing a new state president and creating more deputy chief minister posts, Shivakumar pointed out that this meeting was the latest in a series of similar meetings held by a group of ministers hailing mostly from backward communities, sources said.

The CM’s frequent meetings with select leaders would create confusion among the party workers and also affect the government’s functioning, the DyCM reportedly told the party’s central leadership.

Shivakumar believes that meetings by a section of SC/ST and OBC ministers and their frequent statements on appointing a new state president and creating more deputy chief minister posts were to weaken him so that he would not be a claimant for the CM post, sources said.

Shivakumar, who openly expressed his eagerness to become the CM in a recent television interview, has reportedly expressed surprise over the meeting by the CM when he was away in a foreign country, sources said.

The dinner meeting on January 2, convened by Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, was attended by Siddaramaiah and a group of ministers who are loyal to him.

The meeting comes amid the buzz of a leadership change in the state and has raised eyebrows as it was held when the DyCM was on a holiday in Turkey with his family.

‘One person one post’

In the meeting, several leaders are learnt to have suggested Siddaramaiah to continue in the CM’s post. In the event of he relinquishing the post, the CM should be from the SC/ST or backward class communities. They also strongly argued

for replacing Shivakumar as state Congress president as per,the ‘one person, one post’ policy.

Shivakumar later spoke to reporters. While refusing to divulge details of the meeting, the deputy chief minister said that whenever he came to the national capital, he mt the central leaders.

Asked about Home Minister Parameshwara calling for a dinner meeting in Bengaluru, he said, “I was travelling abroad and I don’t have information on that.”

On Monday, Shivakumar said the media should not read too much about the CM’s dinner meeting. Having dinner with a group of ministers is common everywhere.