Mandya MLA Ravikumar Gowda also alleged that BJP is trying to lure Congress MLAs with ₹50 crore and ministerial post, and added that there is evidence.
The ministers of Karnataka government during the oath taking ceremony. (Supplied)
Congress’s Mandya MLA Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga), on Friday, 27 October, claimed that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar would become the chief minister after two-and-a-half years of Siddaramaiah’s tenure.
“It’s a guarantee that he (Shivakumar) will become chief minister after two-and-a-half years. There is no second talk about this. He has worked for the party. There is no confusion on this, the opposition is spreading a false narrative in the media,” Gowda said.
Responding to a question about whether there was such an agreement, Ravikumar said, “I don’t know about that. I don’t think there is any such agreement. We don’t know what has been discussed at the high command level. But he will become chief minister, he has worked as the state president.”
Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister on 20 May this year, after the Congress posted a landslide victory ousting the BJP from power.
Also praising Siddaramaiah, stating that he is doing a good job, the MLA further said that the government had given five populist guarantee schemes and they were reaching people.
The opposition is trying to create “unnecessary false controversies”, fearing that Congress would win a minimum of 20 seats in the Lok Sabha polls (out of 28 in Karnataka), but they wouldn’t be successful, he said.
When asked if Siddaramaiah will have to resign to make way for Shivakumar as chief minister, the MLA said, “Why discuss all these things now? It is not relevant now. The government is functioning effectively and the betterment of people is before us. When the time comes, things will be decided.”
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister post after the Assembly election results in May this year, and the Congress party had managed to convince the latter and made him the deputy chief minister.
Though there were reports that a compromise had been reached based on a rotational chief minister formula, according to which Shivakumar will become chief minister after two-and-a- half years, it has not been officially confirmed by the party.
Alleging that the team that was behind the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019 was now working to lure Congress legislators with allurements like ₹50 crore and a minister post, Gowda said that there is evidence for it — in the form of information, videos, documents — and it will be revealed soon.
“They (Congress MLAs) were told that a flight will be booked to take them to Delhi, where they will meet Amit Shah (Union Home Minister). It was also told to them that several other Congress legislators were already with them and that they were made to hear certain phone conversations to ensure they believed in it… There is a team working on such a thing. We have evidence for it and we will reveal it,” he alleged.
Stating that four Congress legislators had already been approached, the MLA claimed that former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s former PA, who had joined JD(S) and lost the Assembly polls, was among those behind activities to lure legislators.
“All these things have been brought to the notice of the chief minister and deputy chief minister; at the earliest, it will be revealed. MLAs have themselves honestly revealed to the party leadership,” he said, adding that some former legislators have also been contacted.
Highlighting that Congress legislators have not fallen prey to such allurements, Gowda said that ₹50 crore was being offered, along with a ministerial post and other things.
Recently, Shivakumar had said that he was aware that a team is active in the BJP to destabilise the government and the Congress legislators have been informing him and Siddaramaiah as to who is contacting them and what offer is being made to them.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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