Race for K'taka CM's post; Siddaramaiah leaves for Delhi to meet with AICC leaders
Bengaluru(PTI): Amid the intense race for the Chief Minister's post involving his party colleague DK Shivkumar, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah left for Delhi on Monday to meet AICC leaders.
His visit comes a day after the after the Congress' newly elected legislators authorised AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge to decide on the party's CM pick. Earlier on Monday, Congress Observer Sushil Kumar Shinde had said both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would be called to Delhi for consultations, if required.
The Congress won the May 10 Assembly elections, winning 135 seats.
According to party sources, the 75-year-old Siddaramaiah left for the national capital by a special flight to meet senior party leaders.
"We observers along with Congress general secretary and in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala and general secretary (organisation) [K C Venugopal] will go to Delhi," Shinde earlier told reporters here.
"Our report (based on feedback received at the Congress Legislaure Party meeting) is secret, which we can't divulge. Only our party president Mallikarjun Kharge can reveal," he added.
According to Congress sources, some legislators shared their opinion on their CM preference to the central observers in person during the meeting of the CLP, while the others who were hesitant to share their views face-to-face were given the option of doing so in writing.
"It was a kind of secret ballot in which one could share their opinion choosing between Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah, or any other third leader, or leave it to the decision of the high command," an MLA-elect said on condition of anonymity.
It is said that while a section of MLAs wanted to choose their leader at the meeting by raising hands, the party decided against it as it might create "open division".
Siddaramaiah is learnt to have stressed on getting the opinion of all MLAs before the party high command decides on the new CLP leader, who will subsequently head the government as CM. Kharge had deputed Maharashtra ex-CM Shinde, AICC General Secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria as observers for the election of the CLP leader.
Jitendra Singh said, "we will make a report and submit it to the Congress president. We have talked to all the MLAs in detail till midnight. Decision will be taken only after handing over the report."
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council B K Hariprasad said that with the three central observers having taken the feedback from all MLAs, the party high command will now decide on the next chief minister.
"Observers met and took feedback from MLAs one-to-one yesterday night. There was open feedback and also a secret ballot for the CM's name. Now, the party high command will decide who will be the CM," Hariprasad said.
The CLP at its meeting on Sunday unanimously passed a resolution authorising Kharge to choose the new chief minister of the State.
In the May 10 polls to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress won 135 seats, the BJP 66 and the JD (S) 19. The results were declared on May 13.
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.
Hemant Karkare dying at hands of Kasab ‘Karmic Justice’: Shefali Vaidya on Col. Purohit’s promotion
Shefali Vaidya’s ‘karmic justice’ remark on Hemant Karkare sparks controversy.
Columnist Shefali Vaidya said that the death of former ATS chief Hemant Karkare was “almost karmic justice,” while expressing support for the promotion of Shrikant Purohit.
In the post, she wrote, “Col Purohit to be made Brigadier! This is the least Indian Army could do to restore the honour of an officer who was wrongly accused, framed on false charges, tortured beyond imagination and lost many years of his life thanks to anti-national, evil Congress.”
She further stated, “the way Maharashtra ATS Hemant Karkare died at the hands of Kasab was almost karmic justice, for having tortured Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and others in the fake Hindu terror case. Ditto for disgraced cop Parambir Singh!”
Her post came after reports that Colonel Purohit, who was acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case last year, has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
Defence sources cited by Indian Express had indicated that less than a month after his retirement was put on hold by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), he has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
According to the report, he will now continue in service for at least two more years, up to the age of 56, which is the retirement age for Brigadiers, compared to 54 for Colonels.
Purohit had reportedly approached the AFT, stating that the 17-year-long trial had affected his career progression and denied him the opportunity to be considered for promotions.
Though he was granted bail in 2017, he remained under a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) ban, which was lifted in July 2020. Due to this, his promotion to the rank of Colonel was reportedly withheld in 2021.
The controversy around remarks on Karkare is not new.
Earlier, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee had highlighted instances of social media users allegedly making derogatory comments about the slain officer.
Hemant Karkare, a 1982-batch IPS officer, served as the chief of the Mumbai ATS and led the investigation into the 2008 Malegaon blasts. He was killed in action on November 26, 2008, during the 2008 Mumbai attacks while responding to terrorist activity near Cama Hospital. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra in 2009.
According to the Mumbai Police chargesheet, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, was killed in an exchange of fire with Pakistani terrorists, including Ajmal Amir Kasab and Abu Ismail Khan.
The officers were ambushed near Rang Bhavan Lane while moving towards Cama Hospital.
According to a report by India Today, BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur had earlier claimed that Karkare died as a result of a “curse,” while Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar had alleged that an “RSS-linked cop” was responsible for Karkare’s death, citing claims from a book by S.M. Mushrif.
