Days after his meeting with KPCC president D K Shivakumar became the subject of political speculation, Tourism Minister Anand Singh said on Friday that his visit to the Congress leader’s house was unnecessary.
“It was not right for me to go (to Shivakumar’s house). The time was not right. The situation was not right,” Singh told reporters at the BJP office here.
Singh said that the meeting was not required as it provided fodder for various rumours. “I visited Shivakumar as a friend and had no other intention. I will not visit him with any other intention also,” Singh said.
His visit to Shivakumar’s residence triggered speculation of his exit from the BJP. Singh was among those who resigned from the Congress-JD(S) coalition and joined the BJP and became a minister.
On whether Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai sought a clarification from him over the visit, Singh answered in the affirmative. “I gave a clarification. He let the issue go and did not take it seriously. Former chief minister B S Yediyurappa also asked me, for which I told him that (my visit) was by mistake,” he said.
He said it was due to the efforts of the BJP and Yediyurappa that Vijayanagar district was formed.
“It was an honour for me. If my intention (was to leave BJP), I could have gone through the backdoor (to Shivakumar’s residence),” Singh said.
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