The opposition Congress was forced to set up a five-member committee to shame and probably expel the four legislators who violated the whip to support the party’s fourth candidate M.R. Sitaram and independent Bhairati Suresh, on Tuesday as the angry losing candidate in the Legislative Council polls, Iqbal Saradagi and the entire minority cell threatened to quit en masse.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr G. Parameshwar’s fire-fighting committee consists of V.R. Sudarshan, Allum Veerabhadrappa, H.K. Patil, B.L. Shankar, and Naseer Ahmed. Leader of the opposition Mr Siddaramaiah, pilloried on Monday for backing cross-voting by his supporters was cleared of the allegation as not one of the four suspect legislators were seen as belonging to his camp. Mr Siddaramaiah reportedly turned emotional during a meeting with prominent minority leaders of the party on Tuesday. “I am not the kind of person who will cheat my own family. We are all like members of one family. If anyone proves that I was responsible for Saradagi’s defeat, I will retire from politics,” the leader reportedly said at the meeting.
Mr Saradagi, intervened and assured Mr Siddaramaiah that he did not suspect the leader’s integrity. Instead, the needle of suspicion points at a handful of legislators who were on the verge of defecting to the ruling BJP or NCP ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.