Bengaluru, Nov 27 (PTI) In a fresh twist to the ongoing power struggle in Karnataka, caste groups backing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar on Thursday threw their weight behind them, with one warning Congress against unseating the incumbent CM while the other community strongly batted for Shivakumar’s elevation.
As the pressure builds up over the Congress high command to put an end to the tussle, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said he will have a meeting with select leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and the Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar duo to resolve the matter.
Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra, meanwhile, said there was no reason for his father to quit mid-way through the five year term as he was delivering good administration without any charges against him, and also enjoyed the support of party MLAs.
Party senior and Home minister G Parameshwara, who is also in the CM race, expressed confidence the party high command will resolve the matter in a week. He, however, assured to serve the people and also live up to Congress ideology if he is entrusted with the top post considering his experience and skill.
While an AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalit communities) group warned the Congress of implications if Siddaramaiah was forced to make way for his deputy, a Vokkaliga body said no injustice should be meted out to Shivakumar.
The AHINDA is Siddaramaiah’s core constituency, while Shivakumar, also the Congress state president, belongs to the dominant agrarian community of Vokkaligas that has seen Kengal Hanumanthaiah, K C Reddy, H D Deve Gowda, S M Krishna, Sadananda Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy occupy the state’s top post.
Karnataka Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha warned the Congress high command that it will fight vehemently if injustice happens Shivakumar, who is aspiring to become CM.
“During the assembly election, Shivakumar had toiled hard, toured across the state, strengthened the organisation and due to his efforts the Congress got 140 seats and won the polls,” Sangha president L Srinivas said at a press conference here.
Referring to the rumoured power-sharing agreement of 2023, he said there are doubts whether Siddaramaiah will transfer power to Shivakumar.
“We from Vokkaliga Sangha request the Congress high command to at least give ‘Coolie’ (a token of reward) to Shivakumar for the efforts he has put.” Srinivas said the Deputy CM had also spent time in jail for the party.
“No injustice should happen to the disciplined soldier of the Congress party. We from Vokkaliga Sangha on behalf of the Vokkaliga pontiffs assert that we will vehemently fight if injustice happens to Shivakumar,” he said. Earlier, a Vokkaliga seer had also spoken in support of Shivakumar.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Federation of Backward Class Communities (KSFBCC) backed Siddaramaiah.
Any attempt to unseat the veteran leader will have a bearing on the party, it said.
KSFBCC president K M Ramachandrappa said AHINDA is deeply pained to see the developments taking place.
He said even religious heads are participating in this discussion and are threatening that they will also be part of the chorus seeking removal of Siddaramaiah.
“These threats are not new ones but have been happening for very long time. Since independence it has been happening. We the downtrodden community will not bow down to these threats”.
“If the pontiffs and the Vokkaliga Sangha are ready to stage agitation then we will also not leave our leader. The 70 per cent population of AHINDA communities had offered support to this government. We will not tolerate attempts to bring down a leader from the AHINDA community,” Ramachandrappa said.
Meanwhile, Kharge said he will have discussions involving top leader Rahul Gandhi and the concerned leaders to solve the matter.
“After going to Delhi, I will call three-four important leaders and discuss. After the discussion, we will say how to go ahead; thereby put an end to the confusion,” Kharge told reporters here.
“I will call everyone and discuss. Rahul Gandhi will be part of it, also other members including CM and Deputy CM. After discussing with everyone, a decision will be made,” he added.
The AICC chief said the high command means a team, not an individual. “Our high command team will discuss and decide on the matter,” he added.
Reacting to Kharge’s statement, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar said they will fly to Delhi if summoned.
Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra said his father will complete his term.
As a party worker and MLC, he said he doesn’t see a situation for a CM change because there is no complaint against the chief minister, nor is he involved in any scam.
“Also he is giving good administration. The MLAs are also in his favour. So, I don’t see a need for change. But some are asking for a CM post for another person. It has to be decided by the high command. It won’t be right on our part to share our opinion. Everyone will abide by the high command’s decision,” he told reporters in Mysuru. PTI GMS JP KSU ADB SA
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