Congress to seek explanation from four MLAs who skipped legislative party meet; Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra among absentees

Bengaluru: Congress will issue notices to four MLAs seeking an explanation from them for their absence at the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Bengaluru on Friday, CLP leader Siddaramaiah said. [caption id=“attachment_5090621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress leader Siddaramaiah. Getty Images[/caption] Briefing reporters after the CLP meet, Siddaramaiah said after receiving the replies from the absentee lawmakers, the issue would be discussed with the party high command and state leaders before deciding on the next step. Four dissidents skipped the CLP meet that was called as a show of strength in a counter to an alleged bid by the BJP to topple the coalition government in Karnataka. The absentee MLAs were: Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was dropped as a minister in the recent cabinet rejig and is said to be extremely unhappy over it, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and Mahesh Kumatahalli. Siddaramaiah said Jadhav had written saying he would not be able to attend the meet as he was unwell, while Nagendra had spoken to AICC general secretary KC Venugopal conveying his inability to attend because of a court case. The other two MLAs had not communicated anything, he said.