They will not be taken back at any cost: Siddaramaiah on 14 Cong MLAs who had joined BJP

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that 14 MLAs who had left the Congress party to join the BJP, which had led to the fall of the Congress-JD-S government, will at no cost be taken back into the party.

Addressing mediapersons here, Siddaramaiah said, "No one from those 14 people who left us will be added. I will talk to the state Congress president DK Shivakumar about this. I stand by my words. I had earlier also said in the Assembly that the 14 people who left the Congress for the BJP would not be taken back even if a flood occurs or the earth collapses."

Meanwhile, Shivakumar while speaking to mediapersons at his residence in Bengaluru said that anybody can apply to be a member of the party including those who left the party, but only on the sole condition that they should agree to the "ideology of the Congress".

A day after the Bengaluru City Civil Court passed an order restraining the media from publishing, circulating false, baseless and reckless news items against Union Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda till the next date of hearing, Siddaramaiah said, "... His state of mind is similar to a thief. He has sought a stay order from the court which proves he's guilty."

Siddaramaiah further said that while the people in the state are struggling for the second dose of the Covid vaccine, the BJP-led state government has failed to adequately carry out the vaccination drive. The government said it would vaccinate those over the age of 18. However, there is no vaccine available anywhere, he added.

"The BBMP commissioner said the vaccine was out of stock. Only the Health Minister says "we have no problem, we have enough stock". The state government is not pressurising the Centre to provide more vaccine doses," said Siddaramaiah attacking both the BJP-led Central and state governments.

( With inputs from ANI )

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