I will become Karnataka CM if party high command asks me to: Priyank Kharge
Mysuru: Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Priyank Kharge has said that he was ready to be the Chief Minister of Karnataka if the Congress High Command ask him to take charge of the state administration.
His statement, however, has piqued the interest of people, given that it was made in the backdrop of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's words before the media that he would continue as Karnataka CM for five years.
Addressing reporters in Mysuru on Friday, Kharge responded to a question in the matter, saying his statements were only his personal opinions. "If the Party High Command tells me to be the CM, however, I will take charge too," he added.
Asked further about the CM's statement on heading the administration for five years, Kharge said, "That too is Siddaramaiah's personal opinion. Four members of the party, who have already discussed the matter in a meeting held in New Delhi, are the only people who have a clear picture of the steps that will be taken in this regard. The statements made by anyone else have no importance."
He added that, while the final decision on who will be the CM will be taken by the Congress High Command, everyone in the party was free to express his or her opinion and Siddaramaiah need not be held at fault for his statement.
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BS Yediyurappa appeals to MLA Yatnal's group to work unitedly to strengthen party
Bengaluru, Nov 26: With a group of Karnataka BJP leaders led by Bijapur MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal holding a parallel agitation over the waqf issue, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday accused them of doing it because of their "self-conceit", and appealed them to work unitedly to strengthen the party.
The former Karnataka chief minister also said that everyone should take the responsibility for the party's defeat in the Assembly bypolls for three segments, even as the BJP's performance is being seen as a "setback" for his son and state president B Y Vijayendra.
"State president B Y Vijayendra has appealed to Basangouda Patil Yatnal and others to stop protesting separately, and work with us unitedly. Despite this, because of their self-conceit, they are doing such things. It is not right on their part," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I appeal to them at least now to come forward and cooperate to strengthen the party together."
When told that they are not willing to work unitedly with the state's current leadership of the party and whether he will bring it to the notice of the high command, Yediyurappa said, "We will do our duty. The rest is left to them and central leadership...high command knows everything. Let's see what they will do."
Yatnal-led group include BJP MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, B P Harish, and former lawmakers Aravind Limbavali, Kumar Bangarappa and G M Siddeshwara and others.
The leaders, who had stayed away from the protest recently held by the party on the Waqf issue, on Monday held a parallel agitation over the issue in Bidar. Today, they are in Kalaburagi district.
Yatnal and Jarkiholi have been openly critical of Vijayendra, accusing him of indulging in "adjustment politics" with the ruling Congress, and trying to keep the party in his clutches along with his father Yediyurappa.
Noting that the party had faced a setback in the bypolls for Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna, Yediyurappa said, "We accept that. What shortcomings were being discussed in the party. It should be ensured that such things don't repeat."
To a question whether the bypoll loss is being seen as a setback to his son Vijayendra, he said, "It is not a question of Vijayendra or Yediyurappa. The loss in all the three seats is a setback for us (party). Everyone should take the responsibility and see to it that such things don't repeat."
