Zameer says Siddaramaiah visited Delhi for protest

Ballari Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan has clarified that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not travel to New Delhi to lodge a complaint over the alleged sting operation, but went there to participate in a protest. Speaking to reporters at the Municipal College grounds in Ballari on Sunday, Zameer said Siddaramaiah was travelling to Delhi at the invitation of AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal. He added that no other minister, including the Chief Minister, was scheduled to visit Delhi in connection with Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations. Reacting to the controversy surrounding the alleged sting operation, Zameer said Rakesh Shetty himself had claimed responsibility for conducting it. However, he alleged that the exercise was abandoned after no supporting evidence was found. He also said the party had taken action against those involved and suspended them. Zameer alleged that certain people were attempting to create differences between former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. He maintained that such efforts would not succeed and asserted that there were no differences between the two senior Congress leaders. On the recent milk price revision, the minister said he would bring to the Chief Minister's notice concerns that the increase had exceeded the initially proposed amount. He maintained that the government had approved only a ₹3 hike in response to farmers' demands and that the government would not benefit financially from the revision. Defending the proposed bus fare increase, Zameer said fares had not been revised for the past 10 years and that rising diesel prices had made an increase necessary. He also expressed confidence that former minister B. Nagendra would return to the Cabinet soon, stating that the CID investigation into the Valmiki Development Corporation case was nearing completion and that a report was expected shortly.