Randeep Singh Surjewala
Bengaluru: Amid growing dissent within the ruling party, the Congress High Command has decided to intervene directly to address discontent among its legislators. Party General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala is scheduled to arrive in Bengaluru on Monday to hold one-on-one discussions with Congress MLAs.
This development comes just days after the state government completed two years in office. Several legislators and ministers have recently raised concerns over issues such as power-sharing, centralization of decision-making, the so-called “September Revolution,” and even the possibility of a change in leadership — all of which have caused significant embarrassment to both the government and the party.
Earlier, during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent visit to New Delhi, senior party leaders had reportedly advised him to rein in lawmakers from making statements that could damage the party’s image. However, the continued airing of grievances in public has prompted the High Command to take more decisive action.
Surjewala’s office has directly contacted the MLAs and shared his meeting schedule. Dissatisfied legislators are expected to present their concerns and complaints during these individual sessions.
Among those likely to meet Surjewala are senior MLA B.R. Patil, who alleged that housing department benefits were being given only to those who paid bribes; Raju Kage, who raised the issue of lack of development funds; and N.Y. Gopalakrishna, along with several other disgruntled lawmakers.
