Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar left for Delhi on Tuesday to meet the Congress leadership amid renewed speculation and a war of words over a possible leadership change in the state.
Ahead of his departure, Shivakumar—who is also the state Congress president—warned party functionaries against making public statements on the chief ministerial issue.
The power struggle between Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resurfaced last week after Siddaramaiah’s son and MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah claimed that the party high command had made it clear there would be no change in leadership.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said he had “no confusion” over the issue, asserting that the matter had already been discussed in the presence of the Congress high command.
“There is no confusion. Others may have confusion; I don’t have any confusion,” he said. “I know what Siddaramaiah and I have discussed. It was not discussed secretly. We discussed it with the involvement of the party leadership. Others creating tension and making statements on the issue will not help anyone.”
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He cautioned party leaders against airing their views publicly, saying such remarks were damaging the party.
“Whoever is making statements, either in my favour or against me—whether ministers, legislators or anyone else—is damaging the party. Such statements will not do any good. (Congress national president) Mallikarjun Kharge has said it would be good if everyone shut their mouth. We should all abide by that,” Shivakumar said.
Downplaying speculation over his Delhi visit and his absence from the chief minister’s pre-budget meetings of the Water Resources and Bengaluru Development departments, Shivakumar said he was travelling to attend an AICC meeting related to upcoming elections.
“Today evening, I have an AICC meeting on political matters related to various elections. I have been called by the AICC and I will attend. Election dates may be announced at any time—we have reached that stage. I have been to Kerala and I have to go to Assam,” he said.
Shivakumar has been appointed by the Congress as a senior observer for the upcoming Assam Assembly polls.