Siddaramaiah should have come back again as CM: Home Minister M B Patil
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister M B Patil Tuesday made a pitch for Siddaramaiah "as chief minister again," but clarified the present coalition government under H D Kumaraswamy would complete its full term.
"What's wrong in that? Siddaramaiah is our leader in Congress. People want to see him as chief minister again.
"Even we too want to see him as chief minister again. He gave good governance for five years. He should have come back again," Patil told reporters here.
He was responding to a query on "growing demand" among the Congress MLAs to see Siddaramaiah occupy the top post again.
His statement resonates with Chikkaballapura Congress MLA K Sudhakar's remarks on Monday that it would be good if Siddaramaiah becomes chief minister again.
Batting for another term for Siddaramaiah, Patil claimed the former CM brought many pro-people schemes such as farm loan waiver, irrigation schemes, programmes of 'Bhagya' series such as Anna Bhagya, Krishi Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya etc.
"Siddaramaiah had done a lot of good work. He deserves one more term... But we have to accept people's mandate... When we come to power on our own... but presently that question does not arise.. This government has to complete five years," he said.
"Siddaramaiah has got the eligibility (for second term as chief minister)," Patil added.
After the Congress and JD(S) formed the coalition government following the May 2018 assembly elections, Kumaraswamy took over as the chief minister of the state.
The coalition partners also fought the Lok Sabha elections together though there have been strains between the two ever since.
Many Congress MLAs were not content with the present arrangement and had stated that Siddaramaiah was their leader and they would like to see him chief minister again, an issue that has irked JD(S) leadership.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
