May 2, 2019, 5:02 PM IST
Bengaluru: Congress leader VS Ugrappa has defended the meeting that took place between party leaders and Independent candidate of Mandya Sumalatha Ambareesh at a private hotel in Karnataka. The meeting allegedly facilitated by producer Rockline Venkatesh is seen as a get-together after the election. The BJP sees this as an example of differences in the coalition as Sumalatha is an independent candidate backed by the BJP. This is also the same constituency where state chief minister HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil is contesting. Ugrappa, who spoke exclusively to MyNation said, "It's personal relationship and should not be mixed with politics. They are also part of the system." He alsi added that in case any leader is involved in anti-party activity and violates the coalition principle, action would be initiated. When asked about Siddaramaiah being the brainchild behind this entire drama, Ugrappa said, Siddaramaiah is an honest leader and will not stoop to that level. However, BJP's general secretary CT Ravi sarcastically said, "This meeting with Sumalatha is an example of how the coalition partners would have worked for Nikhil Kumaraswamy."