Bengaluru: The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting that was called at 11 am today at Eagleton Resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru amidst political turmoil over the alleged brawl by its MLAs Anand Singh, J.N. Ganesh and Bheema Naik in a drunken state at the resort was cancelled following the deteriorating health condition of Siddaganga Seer Sri Shivakumara Swamiji.
The meeting was called by CLP leader and former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah to take stock of the lawmakers’ fight in the resort, and draw up counter strategies against the BJP’s attempts to topple the coalition government.
Even all the Congress MLAs have been summoned to Siddaganga Mutt at Tumakuru and they have left the Eagleton Resort in their respective cars. Siddharamaiah flew to the Mutt in a chartered chopper.
Two Congress MLAs — Vijayanagar MLA Anand Singh and Kampli MLA and Anand Singh’s aide J.N. Ganesh – came to blows in the wee hours of Sunday at the resort, putting the party in a tough spot and leaving its leaders squirming. The two MLAs got into the drunken brawl when they were fraternising with fellow district leaders Bheema Naik (Hagaribommanahalli MLA) and recently-inducted Minister E. Tukaram.
While Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara and Siddharamaiah admitted that they had heard the MLAs had fought, it was Wakf Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan who revealed that Anand Singh had sustained an eye injury. According to doctors at the hospital, Anand Singh has suffered a black eye and mild compression on his chest. Dr. Ravi Mohan Rao, Neurosurgeon, said that the MLA was kept under observation.
Meanwhile, MLA J.N. Ganesh said, “I did not hurt him (Anand Singh). It is all a lie. If he’s hurt, I along with my family will go and apologise to him. I, Anand Singh and Bheema Naik had a confrontation; we did not beat each other up. The quarrel snowballed. He (Anand Singh) slipped and he suffered a few injuries,” he said.
Lakshmi Singh, the wife of MLA Anand Singh, has threatened to take legal action. “If it is true that Ganesh beat up my husband and my children, I will not keep quiet and will take legal action against him,” she said.
Lakshmi Singh is in Mumbai to attend a relative’s wedding and is expected to return to Bengaluru soon. She said: “I do not know whether Ganesh provoked my husband, but can anybody try to kill somebody for provocation? Is it right?”
“I will not spare him. I will not keep quiet. I will certainly initiate legal action against him. Our loyalty to the party is secondary,” she added. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Siddhartha Singh, the son of MLA Anand Singh, will file a Police complaint against Kampli MLA Ganesh.
This post was published on January 21, 2019 6:44 pm