Minister Priyank Kharge meets Dy CM Shivakumar amid Karnataka leadership tussle

Bengaluru, Nov 28 (IANS) As the leadership tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar continued in Karnataka on Friday, Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge, son of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, met Dy CM and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar at his residence in Bengaluru. 

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and MLC B.K. Hariprasad met Minister for Food K.H. Muniyappa for discussions.

After the meeting, Minister Priyank Kharge stated, "The high command understands the timing. They will hold a meeting at an appropriate time. The party has existed for 130 years. They will take a call and do what is appropriate at the right time. The official invitation for the meeting has not yet come, and no one has made any official statement in this regard."

"Whether it is AICC General Secretary and Karnataka incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala or AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, if they convene a meeting, the leaders will attend. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar have already stated that they will attend the meeting. They have said the message has to come from Delhi," Kharge added.

After meeting Minister K.H. Muniyappa, senior Dalit leader who hails from the Dalit community, senior leader and MLC B.K. Hariprasad, stated, "Our decisions will reflect the wishes and aspirations of the people. Decisions will be taken seriously, after observing minute developments and discussions. Our decisions will be based on the wishes of party workers and the common people."

"We will not take instructions from Nagpur. Leaders must mind their conduct and ensure they do not hurt the sentiments of the party. No one can claim that they singlehandedly brought the party to power. The party did not win because of only 140 MLAs," Hariprasad said.

He added that the high command must call the leaders to Delhi and resolve the matter.

"It is not only the 140 Congress MLAs who helped bring the party to power. Support also came from outside the party. The votes against the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the people who did not want the BJP in power, all contributed to the Congress victory," he stated.

"We must conduct ourselves in a manner that does not cause pain to these supporters. Mallikarjun Kharge is from Karnataka; all leaders should sit together and resolve the matter. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will decide," he said.

Minister for Food K.H. Muniyappa stated, "If the high command calls us, we will also give our opinions. The high command must call the CM and Dy CM for talks. We should plan to win the 2028 Assembly election."

Amid the ongoing leadership tussle in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Thursday, asserted that the "mandate lasts five years".

The development has gained significance as Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced on Thursday morning that he would summon both CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar to Delhi to resolve the matter of power sharing in the state.

Taking to social media platform X on Thursday evening, CM Siddaramaiah said, "The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years. The Congress party, including me, is walking the talk for our people with compassion, consistency, and courage."

His post was made in response to a cryptic message by Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar earlier in the day about "keeping one's word".

Siddaramaiah's X post, titled "Our word to Karnataka is not a slogan. It means the world to us," also reads, "A word is not power unless it betters the world."

Sources said that Siddaramaiah's X post is both a retaliation to Shivakumar's message and an assertion of his own position.

--IANS

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