Karnataka - Mysore   

A point to ponder for Siddaramaiah group

MYSORE: A recent amendment to the Congress party’s constitution makes it mandatory for a member who joins the Congress from another party to wait for three years before being eligible to become an office-bearer of any party committee. This has put a question mark on the future of the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his followers who left the Janata Dal (Secular) to join the Congress.

The amendment affects not only Mr. Siddaramaiah but also the eight JD(S) legislators supporting him who are waiting for an opportune time to formally join the Congress.

Though Mr. Siddaramaiah joined the Congress 16 months ago, his supporters from Mysore district, including the former Minister H.C. Mahadevappa and the former MLAs M.K. Somashekar, Venkatesh and Mahadev, technically continued to be JD(S) MLAs though they had broken all ties with party. If they had formally joined the Congress, they would have been liable to be disqualified as members of the Assembly under the anti-defection law.

Now that the Assembly has been dissolved, there is no bar on them and others such as the former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim joining the Congress.

But, the recent amendment to the party constitution has come as a speed-breaker. “We have to finalise our course of action. Our group will meet shortly to discuss the latest political situation and take a final decision on our next move,” said a former MLA identified with Mr. Siddaramaiah.

“Mr. Siddaramaiah has already joined the Congress. We will consider his opinion also before finalising our decision,” he said.

Another former MLA said their group had been supporting the Congress even in the proceedings of the Assembly. “Even though we were technically with the JD(S), we have been with the Congress emotionally,” he said.

Asked what he thought about the amendment, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “It is a decision taken at a higher level. I don’t want to comment on it.” Nevertheless, the former Deputy Chief Minister, who has made it clear that he is ready to take up a responsible position in the Congress, said he was not a sanyasi.

Mr. Siddaramaiah’s supporters are of the opinion that the amendment is generic in nature and aimed at opportunistic politicians seeking to join the Congress. “It will not apply to leaders with a mass following,” a former MLA said.

The former Minister and senior Congressman H. Vishwanath, who played a key role in Mr. Siddaramaiah joining the Congress, said the amendment would come into effect from the date on which the resolution was adopted.

“It will not come into force with retrospective effect. Since Mr. Siddaramaiah has already joined the party, it will not apply to him,” Mr. Vishwanath said.

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