Siddaramaiah and Srinivas Prasad meeting in Mysuru sparks speculation
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on former Minister and incumbent BJP MP Srinivas Prasad at the latter’s residence in Mysuru on Saturday, sparking political speculations ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The two leaders were daggers drawn at each other since 2016 when Mr. Prasad was dropped from the then Cabinet of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah forcing the veteran Dalit leader to join the BJP.
The two leaders were meeting each other not only after a gap of almost eight years, but also after Mr. Prasad announced his retirement from active politics.
Speaking to reporters, later, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he and Mr. Prasad were longtime political friends, but he had joined the BJP. He said he came to speak to him after his retirement from politics and inquire about his health.
Responding to questions, Mr. Siddaramaiah said politics was not discussed during the meeting as Mr. Prasad had already declared that he would not join any party or attend any political campaign or meeting. Though there was no point in discussing politics after his announcement, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had appealed to the Dalit leader to have sympathy for the Congress as he had spent a long time of political career in the party.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prasad, while interacting with reporters after meeting Mr. Siddaramaiah, expressed happiness over the his courtesy call to inquire his wellbeing. When asked if the meeting marks the end of his acrimony with the CM, Mr. Prasad said the question of him opposing or supporting does not arise as he had quit active politics.
With regard to his past statements against Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Prasad attributed them to his and Mr. Siddaramaiah’s presence in rival political parties. “Is it possible to praise one another when we are in rival parties?,” he said before adding that there was no enmity between them.
Mr. Prasad ruled out the possibility of attending PrM Modi’s public meeting in Mysuru on Sunday.