Trouble for Siddaramaiah? His minister meets Karnataka BJP chief

Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.

These meetings took place in the context of several political interactions usually not seen among the leaders after Lokayukta police registered a case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

These meetings triggered speculation as if they were held to work out a leadership change in Vidhana Soudha.

The BJP leader told reporters that he, as an MLA from Shikaripura, met Jarkiholi to get some public works done in his constituency.

When asked if he had any political discussion with the minister, especially on the possibility of changing the chief minister, Vijayendra said that the BJP had been demanding Siddaramaiah to resign and pave the way for a transparent investigation into MUDA scam and the Karnataka Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.

"You can see that the Siddaramaiah government is steeped in corruption; development works have not started; anarchy prevails in the state and people have lost their faith in this government too," he added.

D K Suresh, three-time Congress MP from Bengaluru Rural constituency gave almost a similar explanation for his meeting with Jarkiholi by saying that he met the minister regarding public works in Kanakapura and surrounding places.

When asked if they discussed politics, he said that he spoke to the minister regarding the prevailing political situation in the country.

"There were no such discussions which could be shared with the media," Suresh added.

Reacting to the speculations on the meeting, Jarkiholi asked people not to read too much into his meetings, as the two leaders came to meet him for the public works to be done in their respective constituencies.

"Vijayendra met me but there is no need to give it a political colour. He had come here with a delegation from Shikaripura to discuss issues in his district (Shivamogga) and his constituency (Shikaripura). I have told him that I will try to resolve the issue," the minister who holds the public works portfolio said.

These meetings assume significance as Jarkiholi recently called on the party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior Congress leaders in New Delhi.

He also met Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday. The home minister said that they met as both were in Tumakuru incidentally on the same day.

The Lokayukta police registered a case on September 27 against him, his wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju - from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to her - and others, following a Special Court order on September 25.

The order came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to investigate Siddaramaiah.

The ED has also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to a police FIR, against the Chief Minister over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

The MUDA on October 1 decided to take back the 14 plots allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife, following her decision to relinquish their ownership and possession.