Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (RJP)
Bengaluru, Mar 27: Two Congress senior Congress leaders, chief minister Siddaramaiah and former union minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who hardly saw eye-to-eye, met on Saturday, March 26. The immediate outcome of the meeting was Mallikarjun Kharge came in support of Siddaramaiah in relation to the setting up of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the state.
“ACB is functioning in 15 states in the country including in the states where BJP is in power. The government here has not clipped the wings of Lokayuktha. There should not be confusion on the same. Sonia Gandhi has not asked for any report as alleged. In fact there was no discussion at all on ACB issue in the national level.” Kharge said speaking to reporters after his one hour closed door meeting with Siddaramaiah.
On the issue of senior Congress leaders like S M Krishna and Janardhan Poojary opposing the setting up of ACB, Kharge said “I speak about this matter based on the information I have with me. If they have other information, I am not aware of it. A meaningful debate can be held in right forums about the matter.”
“The chief minister has said that there will not be any problems if ACB functions. We have to trust him. If opposition thinks otherwise, they can discuss the matter in the Legislative Houses.” Kharge added.
Kharge also said that he discussed pending projects in Hyderabad-Karnataka region including the Wadi-Gadag railway line, Narayanapur Right Bank Canal, industrial zones, among others, with the chief minister. The meeting takes an interesting turn as Mallikarjun Kharge group in Congress had blamed Siddaramaiah of coming in the way from Kharge becoming the chief minister in Karnataka in 2013. Recently there were rumours that Kharge will replace Siddaramaiah as chief minister before the Assembly polls of 2018.
Asked about his name appearing in the list of Wakf property scam with Khamarul Islam, Kharge said “The government will look into the matter if anybody is wrong “
Meanwhile, BJP MLC G Madhusudhan said that Kharge had met Siddaramaiah to impress upon him not to table the Karnataka Minority Commission report on encroachment of Wakf property in the Legislative Council.