Congress Karnataka chief D K Shivakumar signals his intention to become next Karnataka CM
Tumakuru (K'taka) (PTI): A day after the Congress romped to victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the party's state unit president D K Shivakumar on Sunday hinted that he is in the chief ministerial race saying he took everyone along and never sought anything for himself.
He also brushed aside speculations about differences between him and former chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Speaking to reporters at Nonavinakere here, Shivakumar said the Congress and the Legislature Party will decide the next chief minister of Karnataka.
On the question that those who toiled should also get preference instead of those who are liked by the people, Shivakumar said when Siddaramaiah and Dinesh Gundu Rao had resigned as the Congress Legislature Party president and head of the state unit respectively after the party's rout in 2019 by-elections, then Congress national president Sonia Gandhi had reposed faith in him and made him president.
Shivakumar also recalled that when he was in jail in a money laundering case, Gandhi had visited him to show her support.
"I had not done anything wrong for myself. Whatever I did was for the party. All my sufferings were for the party," he asserted.
The Congress state chief, who won the Assembly election on Saturday from Kanakapura, said he had toiled day and night while taking everyone along.
"Everyone was saying that there are differences between me and Siddaramaiah but let me tell you not a single iota of difference is there. I did not give anyone a chance. I just kept myself grounded and walked my path," Shivakumar added.
The Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections with a thumping majority by winning 135 out of 224 seats whereas the ruling BJP could garner only 66 seats.
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Closely following developments: MEA on Nimisha Priya case
New Delhi, Jan 3: India on Friday said it is closely following the developments in the case of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, facing a death sentence in Yemen.
Priya, who hails from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, has been found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July, 2017.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday, "We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter."
The 37-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
On Thursday, an Iranian official said Iran will do whatever it can in the case.
The Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
According to reports, Priya was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi approved the death penalty to Priya a few days back.
Priya's mother, Prema Kumari, currently in Sana'a, has made an emotional appeal to the Indian government to save her daughter's life.
In a video message from Yemen, Prema Kumari urged the Centre and other authorities to intervene urgently.
"This is my final plea. She has only a few days left. Every member of the action council has worked tirelessly to raise funds. I beg the Centre and the council to do everything possible to save her life," she said.
