No berths promised to rebels: Siddaramaiah
Mr Siddaramaiah retorted that it was internal matter of his party, and therefore need not be disclosed to the media.
Hubbali: Expressing confidence that all legislators of his party would participate in the crucial Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Bengaluru on Friday, an event billed as a show of strength, former chief minister Siddaramaiah ruled out a reshuffle of the ministry, saying dissident MLAs were not promised ministerial berths.
On the veiled threat of disciplinary action against legislators who do not show up at the CLP on Friday, Mr Siddaramaiah retorted that it was internal matter of his party, and therefore need not be disclosed to the media. He saw no need for the ruling coalition to woo legislators of Opposition BJP, and nor would dreams of BJP leaders on formation of their government take shape. “Mr Yeddyurappa has lost respect and faced acute embarrassment while trying for Operation Lotus for the third time. It (Operation Lotus) is detrimental to democracy. The BJP has detained all its legislators in Haryana as it lacks confidence in them. It is also resorting to horse trading by luring ruling party legislators. But we need not resort to such tactics as the coalition parties have a total strength of 120 MLAs,” he told the media at Kerur in Bagalkote district, on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a villager attracted the ire of Mr Siddaramaiah when he attempted to draw his attention during his speech at Kerur. Evidently annoyed with officers for their apathy, the former CM remarked that they resort to drama whenever he pays a visit to his constituency, and do not care to address problems of voters at other times.