Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 22 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of making contradictory statements on the issue of leadership change in the state, alleging that his shifting stand has created confusion within the Congress party.
Speaking toin response to Congress leader DK Suresh's recent remarks on Wednesday, Narayanaswamy said that statements made by senior Congress leaders themselves suggest that there was an earlier agreement on a 2.5-year tenure for the Chief Minister's post.
"... According to his statement, it appears there was an agreement for a 2.5-year tenure in the Chief Minister's position..." Narayanaswamy said.
The BJP leader further alleged that as the stipulated period has now been completed, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was expected to hand over power to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. "Siddaramaiah should transfer power to DK Shivakumar, but instead he is making contradictory statements," he told ANI.
"Now, after a period of 2.5 years, Siddaramaiah has to transfer the power to DK Shivakumar," he said,
Accusing the Chief Minister of frequently changing his stand, Narayanaswamy said that Siddaramaiah's remarks have added to uncertainty within the Congress.
"Sometimes saying he will do whatever the MLAs say, and sometimes saying he will follow whatever the high command says..." he said, adding that such statements have led to unrest and confusion in the party.
Describing these remarks as inconsistent, the BJP leader claimed, stating, "These hit-and-run statements might have upset DK Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh."
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader DK Suresh had urged patience and asserted that DK Shivakumar remains disciplined and committed to the party's collective decision-making process.
"The party has said before. Be patient. During a meeting in Mysore, he said that we will take the right decision at the right time," Suresh said, adding that the party's focus remains on the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Suresh further stated that Shivakumar has been "patiently waiting for the party's order" and emphasised that the post of Chief Minister is not easily attained. Stressing party discipline and unity, he said that all leaders must work together in the interest of the party and its MLAs.
"If it were written on my brother's forehead, he would have become the Chief Minister," he said.
"In the party's and the MLAs' interests, he is patiently waiting for the party's order to bring all 140 MLAs together. Power does not come so easily to anyone, I have said it before. If it were written on my brother's forehead, he would have become the Chief Minister. I will say the same now. The post of Chief Minister is not very easy. It is not easily obtained. Everyone should participate in this. Our goal is the 2028 elections. The party should take the 2028 elections together. Therefore, we must be patient in the interests of the aggrieved workers. He is the party president. We need to see discipline in him. Therefore, he is following that discipline," he added.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday refrained from commenting on his meeting with the Congress high command in New Delhi.
Asking the media not to make a big issue out of his visit, he said that he had come to the national capital for government and party-related work and declined to disclose details of the meeting.
"I cannot disclose it. Time will answer everything... We are all politicians; politicians do whatever politics they want. There is nothing wrong with that. We have met. Why do you make a big deal out of it? We come here for government work, for party work. We come here for politics," he said.
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