Bengaluru, Jan 14 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has spoken about "being ready to sacrifice for the party" amid the buzz over infighting and speculation about power-sharing in the state unit of the ruling Congress, sources said on Monday.
CM Siddaramaiah's remarks at a crucial meeting of the Congress chaired by General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala at Bharat Jodo Bhavan in Bengaluru is expected to trigger a whole new set of discussions and debates in the state's political arena.
According to sources, the statement -- "ready to sacrifice" -- is also interpreted as a new ploy by CM Siddaramaiah to counter the debate on change of guard in the state.
CM Siddaramaiah has stressed that many leaders in the party have made sacrifices.
He made a special mention of sacrifices made by senior party leader Sonia Gandhi, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, indicating that all should be ready to sacrifice when a situation arises.
He insisted that all leaders must emulate them. "The Congress is the only party which can bring in change and the BJP is for status quo. The JD-S does not have any ideology," the Karnataka CM was quoted as saying by a source.
Meanwhile, Surjewala, taking objection to "dinner party meetings" by state leaders, said that they should not engage in organising such parties.
"If any such situation arises, the leaders must obtain the permission of the high command," he said.
Surjewala also told the party members not to issue statements publicly.
He insisted that instead of giving statements damaging to the party, the leaders should attack the BJP.
He also appealed to legislators to discuss any matter of discord within the framework of the party. "The leaders can also discuss the matters with the Chief Minister and Deputy CM."
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the state unit Congress chief, said that he knows how to bring his party to power and appealed to the party leaders to stand with him. He underlined that he will remain a "staunch Congress man, no matter what", sources said.
Earlier on Monday, Surjewala said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar are focused like Arjun, adding that there is no internal strife in the state unit of the grand old party.
Speaking at a press conference here, Surjewala said: "Our party leaders, whether it's Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar, are focused like Arjun on their goals. Their aim is to implement the guarantee schemes effectively and run the government efficiently. The BJP, on the other hand, is unnecessarily criticising the guarantee schemes to create confusion among the people."
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