No 'November revolution', revolution only in 2028 with Cong's return to power: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Dismissing speculation about "November revolution", Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said, there will be a revolution only in 2028 with the Congress returning to power in the state.
Asserting that he is a "disciplined soldier" of the party, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, said he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will abide by the party's decision.
There has been speculation about the chief minister change in the state when the Congress government reaches the halfway mark of its five-year term this month, which is being referred to by some as the "November revolution".
"I'm not meeting anyone (from the high command). There have been no discussions with me regarding Cabinet reshuffle. It is the prerogative of the CM. Let him do it. I have no programme to meet any leaders. I will have to meet them on matters concerning party organisations, vote chori campaign," Shivakumar, who is in New Delhi to meet legal experts in connection with the state's river water projects, said.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "Reports about the Cabinet reshuffle and leadership are by you (media). Have I said anything about leadership change? or has the CM said anything? Nothing. We have said that we will abide by the party direction. If the party says the CM has to be there for five years, he will be for five years. If he has to be for ten years, he will be for ten years. If 15 years, he will be for 15 years. We will discharge the duty given to us (by the party)."
Stating that he is a disciplined soldier of the Congress party, he asserted that he will never cross the party line.
Responding to a question regarding the November revolution, the Deputy CM said, "There will be no revolution in November or December or January or February. There will be a revolution only in 2028 with Congress returning to power."
Rejecting reports speculating about the dates later this month for the November revolution, he said, "Someone has written it just like that...there won't be any revolution."
Asked about ministerial aspirants waiting for the Cabinet reshuffle, Shivakumar said the high command in Delhi will decide and do it whenever they feel it has to be done.
There have been talks within the state's political circles, especially within the ruling Congress, for some time now about the chief minister change later this year.
Siddaramaiah had recently said he would continue in office for the full five-year term, subject to the Congress high command's decision.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
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Sangh Parivar still afraid of Mahatma Gandhi: Kerala CM
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 78th death anniversary and claimed that the Sangh Parivar was still afraid of him and his memory and that is why his name was removed from the rural employment guarantee scheme.
Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said that Gandhi was killed because of his uncompromising stance on secularism and his vision of a pluralistic India that embraces diversity and disagreement.
He claimed that the Sangh Parivar was afraid of the memory of the Father of the Nation and hence his name was removed from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
"Why are they still afraid of Gandhiji? The answer is simple. Gandhiji's life and vision are the exact opposite of the politics of hatred and alienation envisioned by the Sangh Parivar," the CM contended.
He further claimed that the Sangh Parivar was trying to remove Gandhi from the lives of the ordinary people.
Vijayan said that unity in diversity was "the foundation stone of the Indian Republic" and everyone should be committed to protecting it from the "totalitarian tendencies that suppress dissent".
He claimed that there were certain forces which were trying to "rewrite history and elevate communal murderers as heroes" in order to lead the country towards totalitarianism.
The Marxist veteran said that Gandhi was "not assassinated by a man named Godse, but by an embodiment of the politics of hatred promoted by the Sangh Parivar" which is still trying to attack and destroy the Constitution and the democratic values of the country.
He said that Gandhi's martyrdom was a constant call for the anti-communal struggle.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan too claimed that the Sangh Parivar was afraid of Gandhi.
In his message on Facebook paying tribute to the Father of the Nation, Satheesan said that Sangh Parivar was even afraid of the memories of Gandhi and that is why they were "erasing books and writings" to hide things from people.
He too said that the assassin of Gandhi was not just a man, but an ideology.
Satheesan said that even though the Sangh Parivar shot him down, Gandhi still lives on after his death.
Gandhi, the most prominent face of India's freedom movement, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948.
