New Delhi: If the Congress wins the Karnataka polls and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wants to become the chief minister, then D.K. Shivakumar will make way for him. In ThePrint’s Off The Cuff programme, Shivakumar, a chief ministerial contender himself, said that Kharge should be given an opportunity to take the chair if he so wishes.
“I’m telling you on record, if Mr. Kharge wants to be chief minister, I will walk out and make way for him. I will work with him,” the Congress state president asserted.
Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah are the two principal contenders for the coveted post if the Congress comes to power.
He added that the presence of the Congress chief, who is a nine-time MLA from Karnataka, has helped the state unit.
“Kharge is a very senior leader with 50 years of experience. He was an MLA in 1972, and now we are in 2023. He knows the length and breadth of Karnataka with its caste equations and its social fabric. He’s been a great help to us. But he’s given me a free hand. Myself and Siddaramaiah… we have joined together and worked out (our differences) and there are no issues.”
Asked whether he and Siddaramaiah worked out who would become the CM if the Congress trounces the BJP, Shivakumar said the decision will be taken by the party high command in Delhi. “For both of us, the party comes first.”
In the roughly 33-minute interview, Shivakumar also claimed that the Congress will win over 141 seats in the state that goes to polls on 10 May. Currently, the Congress has 69 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
On Yediyurappa & Kumaraswamy
Taking a dig at the BJP for replacing its stalwart B. S. Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai as the CM, Shivakumar alleged that it was because the ruling party could not govern properly.
“They had three and a half years to fulfill the promises. They could have given positive governance. What made them change the CM? Since there was a problem within the government and they could not give good governance, they decided to change Mr. Yediyurappa. He had to resign with a lot of pain and threat,” Shivakumar asserted.
He also dismissed talks of a possible advantage to the BJP because of the number of visits the PM is making to Karnataka.
“He (Modi) may make a dozen visits. We welcome him. It’s his political call. Since his party is too weak, he’s trying to give it strength. Since his party has bungled the image of the BJP, he wants to cover it up,” he said, adding that the election was about Kannada and Kannadiga pride.
Shivakumar was also asked about working with H.D. Kumaraswamy when the JD(S) leader led the Congress-JD(S) coalition government between 2018 and 2019.
“The success story is important. He was not successful. In politics, sharing and caring is important. He could not share. He could not care. That’s why he lost the government,” the Congress state chief replied.
‘Tipu Sultan is not a poll issue in Karnataka’
When asked about the BJP harping on Tipu Sultan to push its Hindutva plank in the election, Shivakumar dismissed the suggestion stating that it was not a poll issue in Karnataka. He further said such issues were part of history which could not be changed.
“There is a history. Has the President of the country come to Vidhan Soudha and asked what Tipu Sultan has contributed to this country? Can we change history? Can we change the history of Indian politics?” he asked.
He added: “Tipu Sultan has contributed in his own way. I come from a district where we grow silk. I’m a silk grower. He (Tipu) brought silk to India. Can we change that history? He deputed his son in London for various political reasons. Can we change that? It (Tipu row) is a dead affair. People are not looking at Tipu Sultan, or hijab. They are looking at starvation, price rise and jobs.”
‘Lingayats have given me a lot of love’
Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, also said that he’s looking to “take Lingayats along” if the Congress comes to power and that he greatly respected the community.
“My personal image on the Lingayat issue after I became the party president is different. They have loved me a lot. I’m a Vokkaliga, and still I believe in Lingayat and Vokkaliga leadership (sic).”
Shivakumar added that the principles of social reformer Basavanna were what the Congress followed. “The Congress party believes in Basavanna’s principles. When Sonia Gandhi came to Karnataka she said that the belief of Basavanna is the Congress ideology,” he said.
He also alluded to his previous stance on the Lingayats being given status of a religious minority when the Congress was in power in 2018.
The government, in which Shivakumar was minister, had formed a seven-member panel headed by a retired judge which recommended the status to the Lingayats.
After the election loss, Shivakumar had apologised for his stance, stating that no government should interfere in religious or cultural issues.
“I apologised because I made a mistake. Now they have come to the conclusion that this is a man with leadership (skills). Let’s believe in him and the Congress party’s Basavanna philosophy,” Shivakumar said, adding that even Rahul Gandhi, in his visits to Karnataka, had visited Lingayat mutts.
‘Congress will bring back Muslim OBC quota’
Shivakumar reiterated the Congress stance that Muslim quota would be brought back in the OBC category, if the party comes to power in the state. Recently, the BJP government scrapped this quota of 4 per cent Muslim reservation and made it a part of the EWS category instead.
“They (the BJP) bungled this. Because they have failed in administration, they tried to make a sensation on the caste issue. Minorities… you can’t throw them out of the country. They are citizens of the country. Myself or Mr. Bommai…there’s a Constitution we have to protect. The BJP has given us a boon,” Shivakumar said.
“We cannot deny their rights. We have to protect everyone’s interest. Everyone has to have equal rights as per their population,” he asserted.
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