Chief Minister Siddaramaiah: Deputy if Delhi says so
The CM want to fill cabinet berths and not a full-fledged cabinet reshuffle
Bengaluru: In what could be the makings of a rift between the two most powerful people in the Congress party, a clearly irked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday, after Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, president, Dr G. Parameshwara loyalists demanded the latter be brought in as deputy chief minister: "such a post can only be created after consulting with party central leaders' in Delhi and it neither be created nor be debated about it on streets.”
The Chief Minister insisted that his primary objective in the days to come was to fill vacant cabinet berths and not a full-fledged cabinet reshuffle. Mr Siddaramaiah’s statement came minutes after the KPCC president, Dr Parameshwara's loyalists 'gheraoed' AICC general secretary, Digvijay Singh's car in front of Kumara Krupa guest house on Friday.
Congress workers raised slogans asking for the creation of a DCM post as they blocked his car. When they finally moved away, Mr Singh left without saying a word. Mr Singh, who arrived in the city on Thursday night to attend a friend's daughter's marriage, reportedly met with both Mr Siddaramaiah and Dr Parameshwara early Friday morning, over the party's rout in the just concluded general elections.
Mr Singh reportedly sought Mr Siddaramaiah’s opinion on the creation of DCM post and Mr Siddaramaiah reportedly suggested that he would prefer to act on the advice of the party central leaders, AICC president, Sonia Gandhi and AICC Vice president, Rahul Gandhi.
Later, at the Meet the Press, he said, “I have been reading articles about the creation of Dy. CM post in media alone and this has never been discussed in the party forum. I do not know who is bringing up this issue through media.”
He said the Congress does not act on the whims and fancies of media.
Later, Siddaramiah's supporters handed over a memorandum to Mr Singh, accusing Dr Parameshwar of not taking active part in the elections.
“The memorandum highlights that Mr Siddaramaiah addressed over 100 rallies but the results were not equivalent to efforts. The creation of Dy.CM post would set off instability in the state. Therefore, the party should take a considered view on creating such a post,” a senior leader who was part delegation told this newspaper.