Karnataka Cong power tussle: Leader of Opposition rakes up issue in Assembly

Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 10 (PTI) Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday raised the issue of power tussle in the ruling Congress, in the Karnataka Assembly, claiming that the political uncertainty and public discussion about the CM post were affecting the state's development.

During a discussion on north Karnataka, the BJP leader talked about the tussle between CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over the CM post.

"The chief minister is very much there, but a Congress MLC recently made a post on X calling Deputy CM D K Shivakumar as the chief minister," Ashoka said, referring to Congress MLC Channaraj Hattiholi's post.

Questioning as to why Congress leaders are repeatedly making statements on the leadership issue, he also referred to the "king is alive" statement by Urban Development Minister B S Suresha (Byrathi Suresha) to the media.

When Speaker U T Khader asked him not to deviate from the main topic, the opposition leader said, "Why? I'm talking about leadership. We are not questioning his (Siddaramaiah) leadership. If there is a leadership issue, there won't be development of north Karnataka." "Where will the development happen when there are doubts about the leadership? There is doubt in the entire state as to who will be the CM. Will bureaucrats function when there is doubt about leadership? No one is working," he said.

Intervening at this point, Suresha maintained that Siddaramaiah and the Congress high command would decide on the leadership issue. He clarified that he had only told the media that Siddaramaiah was still "strong", and both the CM and D K Shivakumar are working like brothers.

The BJP members responded to this with loud laughter, which led to heated exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches. "Every day, there are reports in the media. This has to end somewhere," Ashoka said.

Minister Priyank Kharge, hitting out at the BJP, pointed out that the saffron party saw five CMs in just two terms. "Didn't that affect development then?" he asked.

Several Congress MLAs like H C Balakrishna, Belur Gopalakrishna and others too joined in and highlighted infighting in the BJP.

This was followed by heated exchanges between both sides, especially Kharge from Congress and C N Ashwath Narayan from the BJP, as the latter asked, "Is the Congress government alive?" Ashoka then referred to the Congress MLA H D Ranaganath's statement that he wants his "political guru" D K Shivakumar to become the CM. "If the confusion persists, officials will enjoy and won't work. We wouldn't have asked if it were the Congress president's post. This is about the CM post," he said.

Taking a dig at the breakfast diplomacy between the CM and Deputy CM recently, the LoP said, "Having idli and vada together won't solve the issue; speak to each other with heart and resolve the issue. Every day, everyone speaking about the CM post would not bring dignity to the post".

The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculations about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.

However, both CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each other's residence, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially in view of the Belagavi legislature session.

Asserting that able leadership will do good for north Karnataka and the entire state, Ashoka demanded that the government place a "white paper" on the promises made by it to the people of north Karnataka and what has been fulfilled so far.

He also demanded an audit of the money spent based on the two-decade-old D M Nanjundappa Committee report on regional inequalities. PTI KSU ADB