Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday took exception to some of the party leaders’ public statements on internal matters of the party and asked them not to go before the media on party matters.
Mr. Shivakumar told presspersons here that leaders and Ministers should refrain from discussing in public internal matters of the party and they should instead discuss issues with him or with the Chief Minister. “None should air their views in public before the media under any circumstances,’‘ the KPCC chief warned.
The KPCC president’s reaction comes a day after three-time MLA Ashok Pattan stated that the State Cabinet reshuffle would be taken up in two-and-a-half-years and the new faces would be inducted into the Ministry. Mr. Pattan also stated that AICC general secretary in charge of the State Randeep Singh Surjewala and senior leaders had assured him that he would be inducted into the Cabinet based on seniority and loyalty to the party.
About a month back, Minister for Cooperation Rajanna had spoken about the creation of three more posts of Deputy Chief Minister. After the Congress formed the government, Ministers M.B. Patil and H.C. Mahadevappa spoke to the media saying that Mr. Siddaramaiah would continue in the post for a full term, causing embarrassment to the party then.
On Mr. Pattan’s statement, Mr. Shivakumar denied discussions taking place in the party on Cabinet reshuffle and stated, “Some discussions do take place in the party and all the discussions cannot be disclosed to the media.”
In a reaction to Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s statement that he (Mr. Shivakumar) alone was not responsible for the Congress victory in the 2023 Assembly polls, the KPCC chief played it down and said he had not said he was solely responsible for the party’s victory. “Party leaders, workers, farmers, and people living in villages contributed to the formation of the Congress government,” the KPCC chief said.
