From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jun 27: In what is turning out to be an attempt to corner former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is also the Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the JD(S)-Congress coalition Committee, three senior Congress leaders – Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President Dr G Parameshwara, Vokkaliga strongman and Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar and Lok Sabha party leader Mallikarjuna Kharge – have rallied behind the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
"The interests of the Congress party are above the personal interest or differences of any individual," they said.
Obviously referring to Siddaramaiah's alleged efforts to create a rift in the party, Shivakumar said: "Some people are trying to create differences but we are looking at national interest and interest of the party."
"We will obey whatever decision taken by the party president Rahul Gandhi in the larger national interest and also the interests of the State and its people," he said.
Shivakumar said some vested interests have created differences within the government by releasing videos wherein the former Congress Chief Minister had made comments.
Siddaramaiah is at loggerheads with Kumaraswamy over presentation of a fresh budget by the coalition government, insisting that coalition government should present supplementary budget.
Congress party’s leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in New Delhi that he has seen the video and he would meet Siddaramaiah in a couple of days.
"I will ask him in what context he made comments in the video or if the Video has it been presented in a distorted manner," Kharge said.
He pointed out that the coalition government was forced to bring together secular forces to keep the BJP away from power.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara too apparently contested Siddaramaiah’s claims on the stability of the government and said the Cogngress-JD(S) coalition regime would complete its full five-year term.
"What others were talking outside is irrelevant," he asserted.
Asked about party leaders meeting former Chief Minister, who is taking naturopathy therapy at Dharmasthala, he said: "What is wrong if we (MLAs from Congress) meet anyone from our party? Where is the confusion? There is no confusion at all”.
Meanwhile, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal will arrive in Bengaluru on Thursday for settling differences between Congress leaders.
Siddaramaiah is expected to get discharged from the naturopathy hospital also on Thursday and return to the city.
Both Venugopal and Siddaramaiah are likely to hold talks in Bengaluru on Friday, it is understood.
Incidentallu, a team of Congress MLAs led by Municipality and Local Bodies Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi called on Siddaramaiah on Wednesday at the hospital.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Shivanand Patil, Basavakalyan MLA B. Narayan Rao, former Ministers T B Jayachandra and H Anjaneya aslo called on the former Chief Minister.