Siddaramaiah will remain as CM, says senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi
Mysuru, Oct 8: Senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday said Siddaramaiah will remain as Chief Minister of Karnataka, and the Congress high command has not discussed with him and other party leaders about the possibility of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar replacing him at some point in time.
Speaking to reporters here, Jarkiholi, who is at the forefront of behind-the-scenes political activities within the Congress amid demands for Siddaramaiah's resignation by the opposition following charges against him in the MUDA case, however, said the party's central leadership can respond to questions whether he will hold the post for a full term of five years.
"I can only say that he will be there. Siddaramaiah will be there as Chief Minister," the Public Works Minister, an ST leader with considerable standing in northern Karnataka, said. "Whether he will be there as CM for three years or five years doesn't come at my level. I can only say Siddaramaiah will be there as CM and we are with him."
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On the possibility of Shivakumar, who is also State Congress chief, taking over as CM in the event of a change of guard, he said: "High command has not discussed with us about D K Shivakumar (being made CM)...you ask him. I can only say Siddaramaiah will continue as CM."
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, a powerful leader from the politically influential Vokkaliga community, for the Chief Minister'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.
Amid demand by opposition parties for Siddaramaiah to quit, Jarkiholi on Sunday met Home Minister G Parameshwara, a senior leader from the SC community, in Tumakuru, after last week's meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, leading to intense speculations in political circles over leadership change.
There was also a closed-door meeting earlier between Jarkiholi, Parameshwara and Social Welfare Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa, who is also from SC community.
Amid calls for a Dalit/ST CM within a section of the party that has surfaced time and again, Parameshwara, Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are seen as front-runners for the CM's post if the situation arises.
Jarkiholi, however, ruled out any change in CM, stating that there is no such situation in the state. When the CM post is not vacant, how can he be in the race for the post?
"We have a CM and he will continue. Myself, other ministers, our party and high command have said it several times, so any discussion on it is irrelevant," he said. "We have confidence in the CM's leadership."
On meetings between him and Jarkiholi, and Mahadevappa becoming a point of discussion in political circles, Parameshwara said: "It is good if there are discussions. Like 'Chai pe Charcha', we had a discussion over coffee."
"Just because two of us meet over a coffee and because of that if one is made a CM, many such discussions would take place and a lot of coffee will get consumed," he told reporters in a lighter vein in Bengaluru. "...nothing will happen if we discuss, high command is there. Also such a situation (for CM change) has not arisen, let's discuss and place a demand when the situation arises."
"The CM has said it several times that there is no need for him to resign and he won't, and we too have also said the same thing," Parameshwara said. "There is no need for the CM to resign, it has been repeatedly told."
Meanwhile, taking a dig at "developments" within the Congress, Leader of opposition in the Assembly R Ahoka said there is a "running race" in the ruling party for the CM post. He said "breakfast and dinner meetings" are on among ministers to replace the CM.
"...don't know how long the government will continue. There are rumours within the Congress that the CM may resign in 10-15 days, so leaders are counting MLAs in their support (for CM post)," the BJP leader said.
Siddaramaiah is facing the Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Siddaramaiah's wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by Lokayukta.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
