If Cong high command has to decide on leadership, they should do it before Feb: Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that if the Congress high command has to decide anything on the leadership issue, they should do it before the budget preparation in February.
He said, whether the leadership should be changed or not will be decided by the Congress high command.
"The budget preparation will begin in February, Roughly one more month. If the high command has to decide anything on this issue, they should decide before that," Parameshwara said in response to a question on the leadership issue.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Someone will have to prepare the budget, right? The budget has to be presented based on the assurance we have given to the people of the state. It will be done."
ALSO READ: Congress and NCP (SP) to contest separately in Nagpur civic polls
To a question regarding some people staging a demonstration in Delhi, during the recent Congress Working Committee meeting, demanding that Prameshwara be made the CM, the Home minister said, "Those who say that Prameshwara should become CM, they would have said it out of affection towards me. How can I tell them not to say such things? You seem to be suggesting that I should tell them not to say such things."
On reports of a team of Congress leaders meeting AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal in Delhi, with a demand to make Parameshwara CM in case of leadership change, he said, "The Congress high command will have all the information. They will take information from the general secretary, and they also gather information in their own way."
"They know what has to be decided and when. Whether the leadership should be changed or not. All of this will be decided by them," he added.
Parameshwara, who had served as state Congress chief in the past, had himself last month said that he too was in the race to become the CM. Also, there has been demand for a "Dalit CM" within the Congress in case of leadership change, with Parameshwara as one of the prime contenders.
There have been speculations within the party circles too about Siddaramaiah's faction preferring Parameshwara or other senior leaders among them for the CM post, in case of any changes.
Asked about Congress MLA Iqbal Hussain's statement that there is a 200 per cent chance for Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to become the chief minister of the state on January 6 or 9, Parameshwara jokingly said, "Once Iqbal Hussain has said it is final. Whether I accept it or not is not the question."
ALSO READ: Congress and NCP (SP) to contest separately in Nagpur civic polls
Amid the leadership issue, Siddaramaiah, on December 19, had asserted on the floor of the Assembly that he would continue in office. He had also said that the Congress high command was in his favour and asserted that no decision was made on his staying at the helm for only two-and-a-half years.
Reacting to this, Shivakumar had said that he and CM Siddaramaiah have come to an agreement with the involvement of the Congress high command, and both of them will abide by it.
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First-ever life-size Vivekananda statue in US unveiled in Seattle
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New York (PTI): The first-ever life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda in the US was unveiled in Seattle, honouring the renowned Indian philosopher and spiritual leader.
The life-size bronze statue, installed at the busy Westlake Square in downtown Seattle, is the first such installation hosted by a city government anywhere in the US, officials said.
Sculpted by Indian artist Naresh Kumar Kumawat, it was jointly unveiled on Saturday by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Consul General of India in Seattle Prakash Gupta.
"From Chicago 1893 to Seattle 2026! Seattle's skyline has a new Indian icon: Swami Vivekananda! City of Seattle becomes the first city government to host the Swami Vivekananda Monument in the heart of downtown Seattle," the Consulate General of India in Seattle said in a social media post.
Addressing the event, Wilson said the monument reflects Seattle's inclusive spirit and strengthens cultural ties between India and the diverse metropolitan tech hub in the US Pacific Northwest.
The statue has been gifted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the City of Seattle in recognition of its "in recognition of the city’s rich multicultural character and spirit of inclusivity", the Indian mission in Seattle said in a statement.
The unveiling of the statue was held on the occasion of the celebration of ICCR Day and is part of India's broader cultural diplomacy initiatives aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties between India and the US Pacific Northwest, the Consulate said.
Located at the bustling Westlake Square, which sees over 400,000 visitors daily, the monument stands near prominent landmarks including the Amazon headquarters ‘Spheres’, the Seattle Convention Centre and the Seattle Centre Monorail.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by several local leaders, including mayors from cities in the Greater Seattle area, community representatives and members of the Indian-American diaspora.
Swami Vivekananda had delivered his historic address at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, introducing Hindu philosophy to a global audience.
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