The troubles of the Congress in Karnataka don't seem to end after the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Even as the party top brass is fighting to keep the coalaition government alive, senior leader Ramalinga Reddy has revolted against the leadership, blaming them for the awful show in elections.
Reddy wrote an open letter to the Congress party from his Twitter handle on Monday, giving his version of the events that led to the defeat of the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 out of 28 parliamentary seats in the state.
A former minister in the Siddaramiah-led government, Reddy was not given a cabinet position in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. He expressed his disdain over the alliance leaders' decision to go for a cabinet expansion to induct R Shankar and H Nagesh as part of a plan to keep the BJP at bay and help the government survive.
"I am a seven-time MLA but they are neglecting me. This is also the case for senior leaders like HK Patil, Roshan Baig and others," read his tweet expressing anger over the unfair induction of new members by neglecting the seniors.
In his tweet, Reddy said that neglecting the senior Congressmen in the government and the lack of organisational foresight of some ministers resulted in the humiliating defeat of the party. He said that the main reason for this poor performance is not listening to the advice of the party seniors and the performance of some ministers.
He urged the Congress leadership to set things right. "In order to face the challenging days ahead, the party and the government must address the fact that seniors have been neglected. If the situation continues like this, it'll be difficult for senior leaders to be in the party", he said.
Reddy further suggested that the ministers who failed to deliver in the Lok Sabha elections should be given an inferior rank in the party and the senior members should be given positions in the government.
