No direction from Cong high command on leadership change, says Yathindra Siddaramaiah
Mandya (PTI): Congress MLC and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Friday said the Congress high command has not given any direction on the leadership change, and the confusion is a media creation.
He also said no one knows whether any promise was made in 2023 about leadership change after two and a half years, and hence it was not good to speculate about it.
"There is no battle or skirmish (in ruling Congress). Since there is no confusion amongst us, I feel the media is into perception creation. The Congress high command has not given any direction for leadership change. If there is anything like that, then they will call and discuss it, Yathindra told reporters here.
He added that some people are saying that the deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar should be elevated, but he has said that he will listen to the party high command.
The party high command has said that it will invite both and discuss the issue. Till then no confusion should prevail, he noted.
Regarding confusion in the party over the leadership issue, Yathindra said there can be aspirants in every party, and some might have demanded the post of Chief Minister.
According to him, people aspiring to become Chief Minister is not a big issue, as it happened in all the political parties in power, including the BJP when it was ruling Karnataka.
Both the CM and DCM have said that they will stick to what the party high command says. Hence, all the confusion will be resolved.
To a question on the promise to Shivakumar to make him the next Chief Minister, Yathindra said, "No one knows whether any promise was made about leadership change after two and a half years. High command may or may not know about it. So, it is not proper to speculate about it."
On the question of MLAs being divided on the issue, he said, "Which MLA is in whose favor should not be discussed before the media. It is the internal matter of the party, which should be left to us."
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Naval information leak case: Fourth accused held
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Udupi police have arrested another accused in a case involving the alleged transmission of confidential information related to the Indian Navy to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests to four, officials said on Thursday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Alif Islam (21), a native of West Bengal, who was presently residing at Marayur village in Idukki district of Kerala, they said.
He was apprehended in connection with the alleged leak of a confidential list containing identification numbers of Indian naval vessels, police said.
According to investigators, the accused are suspected to have shared sensitive information through WhatsApp and Facebook with contacts in Pakistan without authorisation.
The case was registered at Malpe police station in 2025 following a complaint regarding the alleged illegal transmission of naval-related data, officials said.
Police said the investigation pertains to the alleged sharing of a classified list of ship numbers linked to the Indian Navy.
In November 2025, two accused -- Rohit and Santri from Uttar Pradesh -- were taken into custody in connection with the same case. Later, Hirendra Kumar from Gujarat was arrested in December 2025.
With the latest arrest, the number of persons held in the case has risen to four.
Police said one more accused is yet to be apprehended. The operator of the Facebook page allegedly used to transmit the information also remains at large.
Investigators suspect that Islam may be a Bangladeshi national, and efforts are on to verify his citizenship and other credentials.
Further investigation is under way, police added.
