Karnataka Congress MLA JN Ganesh on Monday apologised for an incident that left another Congress MLA, Anand Singh, hospitalised.
Ganesh, the legislator from Kampli, was involved in an alleged scuffle with Singh, the legislator from Vijayawada, on Sunday at the Eagleton Resort in Bengaluru, where the legislators had gathered in a bid to prevent the alleged poaching attempt by the BJP.
Addressing reporters, Ganesh said that there is no problem between him and Singh.
“We have come to an understanding. If their family is hurt, I would like to apologise to them,” he said.
Narrating the incident that left Singh with bruises to his eye and other parts of the body, Ganesh said that a discussion between MLA Bheema Nayak and Singh had turned into a heated debate.
“But when I did not agree with their statements, it became an argument. We are all together. I don’t want to comment on who had consumed alcohol,” he said.
He did not say whether there was indeed a scuffle between the two but added that “what happened is personal” and “what is being shown is complete lie”.
“Even I was hurt but I didn’t say anything,” Ganesh said.
Ganesh said that the Congress high command has asked the two to compromise and added that he will tow the party line. Both MLAs are from Ballari district.
Ganesh had reportedly smashed a glass bottle on Singh during the alleged brawl. Following the incident, Anand Singh’s wife, Laxmi, had threatened to take legal action against Ganesh.
Singh is currently undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospital.
Read More | Brawl at resort: Karnataka Congress MLA Anand Singh still in hospital
Reports say that Ganesh is one of the disgruntled Congress MLAs who was reportedly in touch with other dissidents in the party.
Congress leaders had denied the whole incident calling it a “friendly fight” and claiming that all was well between the leaders in the party.
Congress spokesperson and former Nizamabad MP Madhu Goud Yakshi said that the scuffle was related to some business issue had nothing to do with politics.
“It was personal district related. They are all together in business. The scuffle has nothing to do with politics. They come from the same district and have business relations. It (the fight) is something related to that. It has nothing to do with politics,” he said.
On Sunday morning, senior Congress leader DK Shivkumar had insisted that Singh had gone to attend a wedding. His brother and MP D K Suresh came up with a different version later in the day. According to him, Anand Singh had complained of chest pain in the morning for which he had been admitted to hospital for a check-up.
Anand’s wife had expressed concern over the developments, saying she had no idea about her husband’s condition as she could not reach him.
None of the Congress leaders could explain why Anand Singh continued to be in hospital if he was not injured.