Trust Ramesh Kumar at your peril, Muniyappa to Siddu

Muniyappa, who returned from Gujarat on Wednesday, told reporters that he was only cautioning Siddaramaiah against local leaders, indirectly referring to Ramesh Kumar

In a veiled attack against party man K R Ramesh Kumar, veteran Congress leader and former Union minister K H Muniyappa on Wednesday cautioned Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, who has announced his inclination to contest next Assembly polls from Kolar, not to trust the former Speaker and his team.

Siddaramaiah during his tour to Kolar on Monday hinted that he would return to the town for nomination, giving a clear indication of contesting from the Kolar constituency where Kurubas, Muslims and Christians combined hold sway. Interestingly, neither Muniyappa nor his MLA-daughter Roopa Shahidhar accompanied the CLP leader during the tour.

Muniyappa, who returned from Gujarat on Wednesday, told reporters that he was only cautioning Siddaramaiah against a few local leaders, indirectly referring to Ramesh Kumar.

“Since Siddaramaiah has to tour across the state extensively, he may not have enough time to take care of his own constituency. Hence, he must tread carefully... Not all of those who accompanied him during his tour in Kolar are trustworthy. He (Siddaramaiah) will face the toughest electoral battle of his life in Kolar, if he depends on such people. Trust them at your own peril” he cautioned Siddaramaiah.

“Siddaramaiah must take steps to win all sections and every leader in the district before he files his nomination,” he said and urged the CLP leader to be cautious against a section of partymen (referring to his bete noire K R Ramesh Kumar and his team) who had helped the ruling BJP to gain a foothold in Kolar district by tacitly lending support to the saffron party candidate in the Lok Sabha elections to Kolar.

On the allegations that he deliberately skipped Siddaramaiah’s Kolar tour, the former seven-time Kolar MP said, “I had informed Siddaramaiah about my trip to the election-bound Gujarat. It was wrongly reported by a section of the media. We are on good terms,” he claimed.

Replying to a query on his inclination to contest from the Devanahalli Assembly constituency, Muniyappa said he was loyal to the party and that he would abide by the high command’s decision.