<p>Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah will miss at least half of the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi starting December 10, as he is flying to Malaysia on a personal visit.</p>.<p>His decision to skip the first five days of the legislature session, where the BJP has planned an offensive to corner the Congress-JD(S) coalition, has raised eyebrows in political circles.</p>.<p>Siddaramaiah, who heads the coalition coordination and monitoring committee, will be in Malaysia from December 10-14 to attend a wedding. “Don’t I have a personal life? Are you going to make this look like an offence,” he asked reporters in Mysuru on Saturday. “I’m going to attend a friend’s wedding,” he said.</p>.<p>The former chief minister’s Malaysia sojourn comes at a time when dissidence is brewing within the Congress over expansion of the Cabinet.</p>.<p>Also, by virtue of being the leader of the Congress on the floor of the House, Siddaramaiah was expected to defend the alliance partner JD(S), whose chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has been under Opposition fire on various issues concerning farmers and development, in general.</p>.<p>The winter session of legislature also comes at a time when Congress legislators have expressed displeasure over the way the coalition functions.</p>.<p>Incidentally, crisis has erupted each time Siddaramaiah has taken a break. For instance, in June this year, Siddaramaiah camped in Badami even as former minister M B Patil threatened to raise a banner of revolt.</p>.<p>Later in the same month, Siddaramaiah retreated to a naturopathy centre in Dharmasthala, where two of his videos criticising Kumaraswamy and doubting if the government would last, got leaked and created furore. In September, he went on a 10-day Europe tour, when the Jarkiholi brothers gave the Congress sleepless nights.</p>.<p>The CLP meeting, in which Kumaraswamy was expected to address miffed Congress MLAs, may be postponed in view of Siddaramaiah’s tour. The meeting was scheduled during the session.</p>
<p>Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah will miss at least half of the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi starting December 10, as he is flying to Malaysia on a personal visit.</p>.<p>His decision to skip the first five days of the legislature session, where the BJP has planned an offensive to corner the Congress-JD(S) coalition, has raised eyebrows in political circles.</p>.<p>Siddaramaiah, who heads the coalition coordination and monitoring committee, will be in Malaysia from December 10-14 to attend a wedding. “Don’t I have a personal life? Are you going to make this look like an offence,” he asked reporters in Mysuru on Saturday. “I’m going to attend a friend’s wedding,” he said.</p>.<p>The former chief minister’s Malaysia sojourn comes at a time when dissidence is brewing within the Congress over expansion of the Cabinet.</p>.<p>Also, by virtue of being the leader of the Congress on the floor of the House, Siddaramaiah was expected to defend the alliance partner JD(S), whose chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has been under Opposition fire on various issues concerning farmers and development, in general.</p>.<p>The winter session of legislature also comes at a time when Congress legislators have expressed displeasure over the way the coalition functions.</p>.<p>Incidentally, crisis has erupted each time Siddaramaiah has taken a break. For instance, in June this year, Siddaramaiah camped in Badami even as former minister M B Patil threatened to raise a banner of revolt.</p>.<p>Later in the same month, Siddaramaiah retreated to a naturopathy centre in Dharmasthala, where two of his videos criticising Kumaraswamy and doubting if the government would last, got leaked and created furore. In September, he went on a 10-day Europe tour, when the Jarkiholi brothers gave the Congress sleepless nights.</p>.<p>The CLP meeting, in which Kumaraswamy was expected to address miffed Congress MLAs, may be postponed in view of Siddaramaiah’s tour. The meeting was scheduled during the session.</p>
