The Hindu : Front Page : Siddaramaiah holds talks with Sonia Gandhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 29, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Siddaramaiah holds talks with Sonia Gandhi

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The former Deputy Chief Minister and All-India Progressive Janata Dal leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and discussed the issue of his joining the Congress.

The 30-minute meeting was attended by Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Ms. Gandhi, and A.K. Antony, Congress Working Committee member in charge of Karnataka.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has been suspended from the Janata Dal (Secular), declined to give details of the discussions. He only said he had discussed the political situation in Karnataka, including the recent controversy over the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project and would meet Ms. Gandhi again in about a week or 10 days after consultations with his party colleagues.

In a separate interaction, Mr. Antony also declined to go into the details of the discussions, except to say "we are getting closer and closer."

He said the issue of Mr. Siddaramaiah and his colleagues joining the party was part of a process.

The Congress High Command has been toying with the idea of inducting Mr. Siddaramaiah for over a year now, after his relations with Janata Dal (S) president and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda soured.

The move to induct Mr. Siddaramaiah into the Congress gained momentum after he and Janata Dal (S) MLAs close to him voted for a Congress candidate in the recently held elections to the Legislative Council in defiance of the party line.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page