Siddaramaiah asked high command to clear air on leadership issue early: Minister Jarkiholi
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said Chief Minister Siddramaiah has asked the Congress High Command to clear the air at the earliest on the issue of leadership change in the state.
The Minister, who holds the public works portfolio, told reporters that he would soon seek time from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to meet him.
According to him, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar harbors the ambition to become the chief minister, and he had made it known to all from day one, but the party high command gave a chance to Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the party high command has to decide on the leadership change, Jarkiholi said Siddaramaiah has also said that the high command should finalize it at the earliest.
"When CM says it, then seniors in the party should take note of it," the minister said.
Asked whether the MLAs have agreed to it, Jarkiholi said such a discussion is not taking place in the party at present.
"There is no discussion on leadership change in the party. Once it comes up, then we will discuss, but there is no discussion on it in the party right now," the minister said.
To a question whether he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to resolve the matter, Jarkiholi said he will seek time and meet Kharge to discuss this issue and to express his opinion.
He added that Shivakumar had met many people -- some at his residence and some others outside. He also said he too had met him but did not disclose the content of the discussion.
Regarding Home Minister G. Parameshwara's claim that he should also be made the CM, the Public Works Minister said Parameshwara had served as party president for five years.
"I had said in Belagavi that there is nothing wrong in making such claims. So he too is senior, but who will decide finally? It happens in Delhi. All that we can do is just make a claim."
Referring to Siddaramaiah's services in the party post retirement, Jarkiholi said, "We (Congress) will require CM Siddaramaiah's leadership, his service and guidance even after his retirement from active politics."
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar are locked in a stiff competition for the state's top post.
Shivakumar has been insisting on being made the next chief minister, said sources close to him.
According to sources in the Congress, Shivakumar held a one-hour meeting with Jarkiholi in a private hotel.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar told media on Wednesday that he had discussed political strategy, strengthening the party, and bringing the party back to power in 2028 during his discussion with Jarkiholi.
He said he was meeting a lot of other senior leaders of the party, like Ministers Zameer Ahmed Khan, K H Muniyappa, Priyank Kharge, and others, to discuss political strategy.
"We want to see that we retain power in the state and see to it that Rahul Gandhi takes over as the Prime Minister of the country after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls," the Deputy CM said.
"Of course, Satish Jarkiholi had worked with me as a working president (of the party). We all have worked together. We are cabinet colleagues, we want to see that in 2028 we come back to power. We want to have a road map by taking every section of the society together. We want to strengthen the party. We have discussed all this. I always keep on meeting. What's wrong, he is my colleague and senior leader of the party," he said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
