HM: No politics behind postponement of Cong SC/ST leaders' meet

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said a dinner meeting of Congress leaders, ministers, and lawmakers from SC/ST communities, scheduled for the evening, had to be postponed following instructions from AICC General Secretary in-charge of the state, Randeep Singh Surjewala, as he wanted to attend it. The meeting was intended as a preparatory discussion for an SC/ST convention aimed at consolidating community support for the party.

Parameshwara said he has now invited Surjewala to join the meeting whenever it is rescheduled and clarified that there was no political motive behind the meeting, nor was there anything to hide. This development follows Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's recent dinner with select Dalit and ST Cabinet colleagues, which created a buzz within the ruling Congress amid speculation about a possible change of guard in the state after March, under a "rotational chief minister" or "power-sharing" formula. According to sources, the decision to postpone the preparatory meeting came after Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar, a chief ministerial aspirant, met AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal in New Delhi on Monday night to discuss party developments. "We had organised an SC/ST convention in Chitradurga ahead of the Assembly polls and had promised to address several issues outlined in the Chitradurga resolution once we came to power.

Many of those demands have now been fulfilled. The preparatory meeting was planned to discuss the upcoming convention, as well as issues like the cut in central funds," Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, told reporters. He explained that the meeting had not been communicated to the party's central leadership, as it was considered an internal matter. "However, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, telephoned me, expressing his interest in attending the preparatory meeting," he said.

Parameshwara invited Surjewala to participate and assured him that there was no political agenda. "I told him that he had attended the Chitradurga convention before the polls, so he is welcome to join this meeting as well. There is nothing secretive about it," he added. The postponement was due to Surjewala's inability to attend. "Since the AICC General Secretary requested a temporary postponement, we have obliged,'' Parameshwara clarified.