Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Apr 22: Former union minister and Kolar MP, K H Muniyappa, has fired a salvo at Karnataka chief minister (CM), Siddaramaiah. Muniyappa met Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, on Thursday April 21 and complained to her about the style of Siddaramaiah's functioning. This, it appears, is the first official protest lodged with the party against the CM, which seeks convey to the party high command the widespread resentment that is prevalent within the state Congress against the chief minister.

Muniyappa met the party's national president on Thursday morning and officially handed over a list of complaints. He said that Siddaramaiah has failed to take other leaders into confidence and take them along, which has given rise to anger among senior leaders of the party in Karnataka. He has said that the chief minister has to necessarily make changes in the way he handles things, if he wants the party come back to power in the next election.

About the demand to make dalit the CM that is gaining momentum, he said that this issue is open for debate. "Dalits alone cannot make one among them the chief minister. Because for becoming a chief minister, everyone needs to extend support to the candidate," he noted. On the issue of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee presidentship, he stated that he is one of the aspirants for the post because he has been elected seven times as MP with the backing of all the communities.