Jarkiholi is my colleague, don’t see us as enemies: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has stated that Satish Jarkiholi and he are colleagues and not enemies.
Speaking to presspersons here, Shivakumar questioned the media for portraying tension between the two leaders. “It is true that Satish Jarkiholi and I met at a wedding last night. We discussed the state and the party. Satish Jarkiholi and I are colleagues. Why do you see us as enemies?” he asked.
Shivakumar was responding to queries near the new Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) office on Thursday.
When asked about Jarkiholi’s visit, he said, “We attend cabinet meetings in the afternoon, we meet for dinner, we meet for breakfast in the morning; these interactions are normal. In politics, friendship, relationships, and closeness always exist.”
He added, “Now, M.B. Patil and I spoke for about an hour about how to attract investors to the state, how Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are competing with us. A global conference will be held in Telangana soon, and we discussed how Karnataka should compete at the global level. It is natural to discuss the state’s progress this way.”
Speaking about the inauguration of the new KKRDB office, he said, “Businessmen in Karnataka should be respected. Their work should be facilitated, officers’ visits should be convenient, and files should be cleared quickly. The state government has built a new KKRDB office under the leadership of M.B. Patil. They had been in a rented building for so long; now they have their own office. It is close to Vidhana Soudha, bus and railway stations.”
When mediapersons asked about, leader of opposition, R. Ashoka’s comments regarding the Upalokayukta report that allegedly shows 63% corruption in the state, Shivakumar retorted, stating that, “It’s a pity that R. Ashoka doesn’t know the time period the report covers. Let him first read the report. Let him raise the issue in the session, and we will answer there.”
On whether a date has been fixed for the all-party delegation’s visit to Delhi, he said, “We still need to discuss it. The Union Minister said he is busy with the Parliament session, so we postponed the meeting scheduled for December 8. He had written a letter about this. The Prime Minister has a meeting with Prahlad Joshi. Nirmala Sitharaman has to introduce a bill that day. Somanna also said he will not be able to attend. A date will be fixed that is convenient for all of us.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
No confusion in BJP-JD(S) alliance: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday dismissed speculation over confusion in the BJP-JD(S) alliance, asserting that there was clarity within them and that discussions on the chief minister post were premature.
Addressing reporters at the party's state office, JP Bhavan, after chairing a preparatory meeting for the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections, he said the immediate priority was to remove what he termed an "anti-people government" in the state and to strengthen the alliance to face upcoming polls.
"This is not the time to discuss who should become the chief minister. There is still time for that. If we speak about it now, it would be like stitching the cradle even before the baby is born," Kumaraswamy said, underlining that leadership questions would be taken up at an appropriate time.
The JD(S) second-in-command said there is still a lot of work to be done and it was not appropriate to speak about such matters now.
"On the issue of alliance, both I and our party are open-minded. When the time comes, we will discuss it on the party platform and take a decision. There is no confusion regarding the alliance, and there will be no confusion in the future. This is my stand," Kumaraswamy said.
"There is a bad government in the state. My objective is to remove it and bring in a pro-people government. Removing this corrupt and bad government is my agenda. The JD(S) and BJP parties will work together to accomplish this task," he added.
Reiterating his stand, Kumaraswamy said, "My objective is to remove the anti-people government in the state. I have been saying this from the beginning."
On reports of internal differences over the alliance and the CM's position, the union minister said he would not respond to every statement made by individuals.
"Some people are speaking about the alliance and the chief minister's position. I do not feel the need to respond to them. If I start answering each of them, people may think I lack maturity. Therefore, I will not speak about it. We will strengthen the alliance together, face the elections together, and bring a pro-people government," he said.
Kumaraswamy added that discussions within parties were natural and not final.
He said there were still two years left for the Assembly elections while there were four to five months left for the local body elections.
The union minister said the JD(S) is also preparing for the municipal elections in Bengaluru city just as other parties.
He clarified that there had been no discussions so far between the two parties specifically on local body or GBA elections.
Earlier, the JD(S) leader chaired a meeting with Members of the Legislative Council, former MLAs and other leaders of his party to review preparations for the GBA elections.
_vb_63.jpeg)
