Congress flounders again as 7 MLAs stay away from CLP meet

Bengaluru, May 31: The Congress appears in deep trouble as seven MLAs, including two associate members, skipped the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting that extended well past midnight on Wednesday-Thursday. Significant among the absentees were former ministers R Roshan Baig and Ramesh Jarkiholi, who continued to adopt a tough posture against the party leadership.

While Ramesh has absented himself from party meetings ever since he resigned as minister, Baig, whose anger has been simmering, recently unleashed an outburst against the party leadership. He accused state leaders of overlooking Muslims and senior leaders of the community.

However, there was some relief for the ruling dispensation as other disgruntled MLAs, including K Sudhakar, Mahesh Kumathalli, B Nagendra and BC Patil were present. Kampli MLA JN Ganesh, who was accused of assaulting fellow legislator Anand Singh during a brawl at a resort last year, also attended the meeting after his suspension was revoked to keep Congress numbers intact.

Briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, CLP leader Siddaramaiah said 72 of 79 MLAs attended. Five MLAs had sought leave of absence, but there was no communication from either Baig or Jarkiholi.

Of the other five who stayed away, former minister R Ramalinga Reddy is on a foreign tour, Byrathi Basavaraj cited ill-health, while Rahim Khan, Subba Reddy and Rajashekhar Patil cited urban local body polls as reason for their absence. Siddaramaiah, however, exuded confidence that Baig and Jarkiholi will not leave the party.

Baig told reporters that that he stayed away since he has been critical of senior leaders including AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, KC Venugopal and he had “no face” to attend. However, he dismissed reports that he was in talks with senior BJP leaders and was intending to jump ship, saying, “I am a disciplined soldier of the Congress.”

The CLP meeting was convened by Venugopal, who arrived from New Delhi on Wednesday to execute damage control measures in the wake of the BJP’s efforts to topple the government.