While the alleged visit of Zameer Ahmed, MLA, to a casino in Colombo, while he was with the JD(S), is being dragged into the ongoing drug investigations, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in a series of tweets said that a team of party MLAs did visit the island country but it was only for party-related discussions.
Referring to this, former Minister and JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti on Saturday said that Mr. Kumaraswamy had the “guts to speak the truth” about the visit to a casino in Colombo and no other inference should be drawn from it.
Mr. Horatti sought to know whether there were any rules that politics should not be discussed in a casino. “They had gone there for a political meeting,” he said. He clarified that while he knew about the visit of JD(S) MLAs and former MLAs to the casino, he had not gone with them. “Whether it is right or wrong, Mr. Kumaraswamy has shown the courage to speak the truth. It is time that the names of all those involved in the drug racket comes out,” he said.
Former Minister and JD(S) leader N.H. Konaraddi too confirmed the visit of JD(S) MLAs and leaders to the casino, when he was an MLA. “I was invited but I did not go. Our legislative party leader has tweeted about it,” he said. Mr. Konaraddi said it was true that the leaders had gone to the casino to discuss politics.
