Rahul takes stock of K'taka political situation

With continued verbal spat between Congress MLAs and JD(S) leaders in Karnataka, Congress national president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday held a discussion with former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao here and took the stock of the political situation in the state.

Rahul, who summoned both Siddaramaiah and Rao to the national capital, is learnt to have discussed the current political developments. Congress In-charge General Secretary (Karnataka) K C Venugopal was also present.

Though what transpired in the meeting is not known, sources in the party said that both the leaders briefed Rahul about the spat between Congress MLAs and JD(S) leadership. He also enquired about that alleged Operation Lotus, the sources said.

Rahul is learnt to have advised the state leaders to ensure smooth sailing of the coalition government and also suggested the state leaders to protect the interest of party leaders and workers.

In the meeting, the issue of some Congress legislators claiming that they will treat Siddaramaiah as chief minister and the subsequent threat by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to quit the post also came up for discussion.

Prior to the meeting, Siddaramaiah told reporters that said he will discuss the current political developments in the state with Rahul. However, he reiterated that there will be no threat to the coalition government.

When asked about his reaction to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s attack on him, Siddaramaiah said he is not aware of any such statement.

“I will not react to every statement by each political leader. If I keep on reacting to each leader, there is no end,” he said.