Power tussle: Shivakumar loyalists make fresh pitch for leadership change
Bengaluru (PTI): The ongoing power tussle in the ruling Congress in Karnataka intensified with supporters of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar gathering at a hotel to discuss strategies to see their leader's elevation to the top post in the state.
Magadi MLA H C Balakrishna organised the gathering where discussions were held "to end the confusion regarding power sharing".
"Nearly 40 like-minded MLAs" gathered in the private hotel on Thursday night where it was decided to lobby for Shivakumar's elevation as the Chief Minister, Congress sources said.
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Speaking to reporters, Balakrishna, a Shivakumar loyalist, said his birthday falls on Saturday. "Since I will not be here (Bengaluru) from Friday morning as I am going out, I asked all like-minded people to have a get-together on Thursday. We invited everyone and organised this gathering."
When asked about what they discussed, the Magadi MLA said, "The discussion here was that in the present situation, if our party continues like this, it will be difficult for us in the future. The high command must give a final shape to this issue (leadership row). We have decided that we should urge them (high command) to do so."
To the question whether they would visit Delhi, Balakrishna said the matter is not about going to the national capital.
The high command is not "sleeping there in Delhi". It knows what is happening in Karnataka, he added.
According to him, when the Congress MLAs go to their constituencies, they often face questions and discussions on leadership change.
"In our constituencies, this is the only discussion and it irritates us. We must request the high command to put an end to this. Let us see how to speak about it further," Balakrishna said.
He said summoning leaders individually would not help.
"We are clear. The high command should intervene and draw a final curtain on this issue," Balakrishna said.
He added that when Congress MLAs gather, conversations naturally happen.
"During such discussions, many MLAs expressed that unless this is resolved, it will be difficult for us and our future will be uncertain," the MLA said, hinting that the leadership issue would damage the party's prospects in the 2028 assembly election.
When asked about the calls to change the Congress Karnataka unit president, which Shivakumar has been holding for the past 10 years, he said let the high command change if it wishes.
"We only want a final decision. Whether they change the president or someone else, that is not the main question. Our demand is that a final shape be given to the Congress party here," the MLA emphasised.
To a question about whether he was suggesting changing the Chief Minister in the state, Balakrishna said, "Didn't the high command say a decision will be made? Whether they change the president or the CM is the high command's decision. But a decision must be made. It's not just our opinion. What we want is that the confusion must end."
The meeting took place about a week before the budget session of the Karnataka legislature that will start from March 6.
Some other MLAs said they want Shivakumar to replace Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The power tussle has flared up in the state since November, 2025, when the Congress government completed the halfway mark of two-and-half years.
There have been reports when the Congress came to power that there was a power sharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
According to the agreement, Siddaramaiah will be the CM for the first two-and-half years, and later Shivakumar would take charge. There was no definitive confirmation though.
Shivakumar has been hinting that a power sharing agreement did exist and very few people know it.
On the other hand, Siddaramaiah has been asserting that he would remain the CM for the full five year term.
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Excise scam: Delhi court discharges former CM Kejriwal, Sisodia, K Kavitha and 20 others
New Delhi (PTI): In a massive relief to the AAP's top leadership, a Delhi court on Friday discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his ex-deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the politically charged liquor policy case by refusing to take cognisance of the CBI chargesheet against them.
Among the 21 people given a clean chit in the case is Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh rapped the CBI for lapses in the investigation, saying that there was no cogent evidence against Kejriwal and there was no prima facie case against Sisodia and the other accused.
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
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Underscoring "some misleading averments", the judge said in his strongly worded statement that the voluminous chargesheet had several lacunas not corroborated by evidence or witnesses.
"... The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of conspiracy theory," he said.
He said that in the absence of any evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained and that the former chief minister was implicated without any cogent evidence.
This, the judge said, was inconsistent with the rule of law.
Regarding Sisodia, the judge said there was no material on record showing his involvement, nor was any recovery made from him.
The court underlined its finding of the absence of an overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy while observing that the federal agency's case did not withstand judicial scrutiny, especially when the CBI sought to construct a narrative of conspiracy onmere conjecture.
It also rapped the agency for building its case through approver statements.
"If such conduct is allowed, it would be a grave violation of the Constitutional principles. The conduct where an accused is granted pardon and then made an approver, his statements used to fill the gaps in the investigation/narrative and make additional people accused is wrong," the court said.
The other accused discharged are Kuldeep Singh, Narender Singh, Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Goutam, Sameer Mahendru, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Arjun Pandey, Butchibabu Gornatla, Rakesh Joshi, Damodar Prasad Sharma, Prince Kumar, Chanpreet Singh Rayat, Arvind Kumar Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Vinod Chauhan, Ashish Mathur, and P Sarath Chadra Reddy.
