Venugopal meets Siddaramaiah, Dinesh

AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal held closed-door talks with former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s crucial Coalition Coordination and Monitoring Committee meeting.

Venugopal is also a member of the coordination committee. Venugopal told reporters that it was natural for any coalition set-up to have minor hiccups. “We will resolve them,” he said. Venugopal also discredited Siddaramaiah’s controversial video footage in which he (Siddaramaiah) expresses doubts on the longevity of the Congress-JD(S) coalition. When asked when the Cabinet expansion will take place, Venugopal only said, “Soon.”

He also met Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is reportedly miffed. Rao is aspiring to replace Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara as the KPCC president.

Meanwhile, disgruntled leader and former minister M B Patil met Siddaramaiah and held a closed-door meeting on the Cabinet expansion. Patil, who spearheaded the agitation for separate religion tag for Lingayats (Basava tatva), is upset with the party for not giving him a ministerial berth. He is also lobbying to become the state Congress chief.