Randeep Surjewala on five-day tour of Karnataka to prep Congress for byelections

At a press meet, he said that Surjewala will hold a meeting with party leaders of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Shivamoga districts in Mangaluru on Friday.
Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala  (File| PTI)
Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala (File| PTI)

MANGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Saleem Ahmed on Tuesday said that AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, will embark on a five-day tour of the state from Friday, to chalk out plans for the upcoming byelections to Sindhagi and Hangal Assembly seats and the taluk panchayat elections.

At a press meet, he said that Surjewala will hold a meeting with party leaders of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Shivamoga districts in Mangaluru on Friday. The next day, he will hold a meeting in Tumakuru with leaders of Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga and Davanagere districts. On July 29 and 30, he will meet leaders of North Karnataka districts in Hubballi. 
Ahmed said that the BJP-led state government should stop the “political circus” and respond to people’s woes in the wake of the predicted Covid-19 third wave.

He said that the recent political developments in the state and statements of BJP leaders indicate that the party central leaders have lost their trust in Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. Stating that BJP leaders are predicting a mid-term poll in the state, Ahmed felt that the Congress will come to power in such a scenario. He termed the statement by Congress leader M B Patil in favour of Yediyurappa as “personal opinion” and said it has nothing to do with the party.

Claiming that the State Government is grossly under-reporting Covid deaths, he said that the Congress is conducting a death audit to expose the government. “A government website put the Covid toll at 3.27 lakh. But the information was soon removed from the website and now they say only 30,000 have died. The guidelines to get Rs 1 lakh Covid compensation is so tough that many will not get it,” he added.

RAHUL ASKS SIDDU DKS TO UNITE, SEIZE OPPORTUNITY
Bengaluru:
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief D K Shivakumar and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah met senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday. While the duo was summoned over the Pegasus Project reports, which suggested hacking of phones of people close to Congress leaders, issues of dissent within the party, factionalism denting the party’s image and cadres’ morale also were broached.

 “There is no conflict between Shivakumar and me. We are united and are building the party together. Why should there be a rift when our fight is against the corruption of BJP? We are working together to bring the party back to power,” Siddaramaiah told the media in New Delhi.  Both leaders interacted jointly as well as individually with Rahul, it is said, over their concerns and public statements by each other’s supporters. Sources said that Rahul insisted that the leaders put aside any differences there may be and work unitedly.  Given the rumblings in the BJP government, Rahul is said to have asked both leaders to seize the opportunity to bring back the Congress to power in the state. 

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