No agreement with DK Shivakumar on power-sharing, will abide by high command decision: Siddaramaiah
Mandya (Karnataka), Dec 4: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said there was no agreement between him and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar over power-sharing, before the Congress came to power in the state, and would abide by the decision of the party high command.
Reacting to Siddaramaiah's comments, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, said whatever the CM says is final.
"There was no agreement. I will abide by the high command's decision," Siddaramaiah told media, in response to a question on Shivakumar's reported statement that there was an agreement between them, before coming to power.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the CM's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party. Shivakumar has made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister.
Reacting to the CM's statement, Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru: "Once the Chief Minister has said, there is no objection to it...what he, the CM says is final. No objections, I'm always loyal to the Chair, I'm loyal to the party. The CM has said -- no (further) question, no discussion , no debate."
Asked if there was no pain, Shivakumar replied, "I have responded to all of that."
To another query whether the cabinet reshuffle was on the cards, the CM said, "not now...."
Asked about some MLAs vying for ministerial positions, he said, "...ultimately the high command has to instruct me and I will have to decide. The high command has not told me anything, and I have not decided ."
Speculations are rife about a possible cabinet reshuffle and evaluation of the performance of the ministers, ever since the Lok Sabha poll results.
There has also been a demand from a section of MLAs, who are ministerial aspirants, to be inducted into the cabinet. Some have even openly expressed their wish to become ministers.
Responding to a question on 'Jana Kalyana Samavesha' in Hassan, Siddaramaiah said, "Tomorrow a convention has been organised jointly by the Congress party and Swabhimanigala Okkuta (federation organisations of oppressed communities).
Probably Swabhimanigala Okkuta will be getting more people for the convention."
While downplaying the change in the name of the convention, he said, "...it is being organised jointly, the Congress party has also joined."
The state Congress led by its President Shivakumar has renamed the convention as 'Jana Kalyana Samavesha' from 'Siddaramaiah Swabhimaani Janandolana Samavesha', and it is unlikely to be a Siddaramaiah-centric mega "show of strength" event, as was originally planned by his supporters.
The convention was initially organised by the federation of organisations of oppressed communities, in solidarity with the Chief Minister, who is facing allegations in the MUDA site allotment scam.
However, the Congress party's involvement as the joint host of the event was confirmed by the Chief Minister himself last week, amid reports that a section of leaders within the party were against such an event being organised outside the party framework.
The event, originally aimed at mobilising support for Siddaramaiah amid an investigation into the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam, will now also highlight the government's "pro-people" programmes, especially the guarantee schemes, among other initiatives, party sources said.
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.
Madhya Pradesh: BJP leader assaults blind woman in Church
Jabalpur: Anju Bhargava, vice-president of BJP's Jabalpur city unit, has come under sharp scrutiny, creating the ripples of political controvery in Madhya Pradesh, after a video surfaced online showing her physically assaulting a visually impaired woman inside a church.
The New Indian Express has reported that the said incident reportedly took place on Saturday (20 Dec) at a church in the Hawa Bagh area, which comes under the limits of Gorakhpur police station.
The video footage that has circulated widely on Monday shows Anju Bhargava, assaulting the blind woman in the presence of a police officer. In the video, Bhargava is seen shouting at the woman, twisting her arm and forcibly grabbing her face. The victim can be heard pleading to Bhargava to speak to her rather than resorting to physical violence. Also, we can hear Bhargava screaming, “will be blind in her next birth too”
ALSO READ: Woman arrested for theft, stolen gold articles worth Rs 32 lakh seized
According to The Indian Express reports, Bhargava entered the church, with members of several Hindutva affiliated organisations, alleging that the visually impaired children were being forced into religious conversion; But, the students present at the church have flatly denied all the allegations.
An unnamed police officer cited in media reports states that there was no evidence to support claims of forced religious conversion. The incident has since intensified political debate in the state, with opposition parties demanding accountability and action against those involved.
