Mangaluru (The Hindu): Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes and district Congress president B. Ramanath Rai have not responded when asked about the possibility of re-inducting the former Congress MP Jayaprakash Hegde and Harikrishna Bantwal, former general secretary of the Dakshina Kannada district Congress committee, back into the party.
Mr. Hegde and Mr. Bantwal were suspended from the party for contesting against the official candidate K. Pratapachandra Shetty in the recently concluded elections to the Legislative Council from the local bodies constituency in Dakshina Kannada-Udupi. Mr. Shetty and BJP’s Kota Shrinivas Poojary were elected.
Asked about the possibility of re-inducting Mr. Hegde and Mr. Bantwal as the party prepares for the taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat elections, Mr. Fernandes turned to Mr. Rai on Saturday. “He is the district Congress president and he will reply.”
Terming the question as hypothetical, Mr. Rai said, “The party has placed the two under suspension for contesting against the official candidate,” he said. When pressed for a direct answer, Mr. Rai remained silent and then asked reporters to join them for lunch.
Jayaprakash Hegde and Harikrishna Bantwal were suspended from Congress recently
