Karnataka CM News Highlights: Will fight communal forces till last breath, says Siddaramaiah

DK Shivakumar will head to Delhi today evening.

After submitting his resignation, Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah posted on X saying, "Today, I went to Raj Bhavan and submitted my resignation letter as Chief Minister to the Governor's special officers in his absence. I, who was born and raised in a village, never even dreamed that one day I would become the ruler, minister, leader of the opposition, and twice the Chief Minister of this state. Such an extravagant dream becoming a reality is thanks to Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Constitution. Buddha, Basav, Baba Saheb, and Mahatma Gandhi are my ideals.

In my thirty-eight years of political life, I feel a sense of fulfillment from having worked honestly for the state's deprived, exploited, and poor people. I am eternally indebted to the party's legislators who selected me as the leader of the legislative party and provided me the opportunity to serve the people as Chief Minister until now; to my cabinet colleagues who worked shoulder to shoulder with me; to the party's senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge who gave me this opportunity; and to the warm-hearted Kannadigas who filled my political life with love, admired me, and guided me hand in hand until here.

The Constitution itself is my religion, and the people are the gods on my side. My resignation is limited only to the post of Chief Minister, not to active politics. Until my last breath, I will continue to fight for social justice and against forces of communalism that oppose the Constitution. Thank you."

The BJP on Thursday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the issue of OBC representation, calling him a 'hypocrite' who speaks about caste census and OBC rights but does not promote OBC leaders to top posts.This remark came with Siddaramaiah stepping down as Karnataka chief minister and D K Shivakumar taking over the role.

In a video message, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that several Congress leaders, including V D Satheesan, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Revanth Reddy, do not belong to the OBC community.

'Rahul Gandhi has said that rights should be proportionate to population and has repeatedly discussed caste issues. However, his principles are like the tusks of an elephant - different in appearance from their actual use. He is a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another,' Poonawalla said. He also said that Shivakumar replacing Siddaramaiah means there would be 'no OBC CM' in Congress-ruled states.

Noting that Siddaramaiah, who is from the OBC community and used to appeal to AHINDA (which represents three marginalised communities in Karnataka), has been removed from his post, Poonawalla questioned the current number of OBC chief ministers.

'In Kerala, Satheesan ji; in Himachal Pradesh, Sukhu ji; in Telangana, Revanth Reddy ji; and in Karnataka, you have removed Siddaramaiah ji. So where is the OBC representation?' he asked. He alleged that the Congress party's principles and practices regarding caste are inconsistent.

'It is not represented even within the first family's RGF Trust or the Congress Working Committee. In contrast, the BJP has made an OBC leader the Prime Minister, who is currently serving his third term. This highlights the difference between Congress and BJP,' he said.

PTI

Siddaramaiah leaves for the airport after announcing his resignation as Karnataka Chief Minister and is set to arrive in New Delhi today.

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VIDEO | Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah leaves for the airport after announcing his resignation as Karnataka Chief Minister.

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After two years of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister has finally managed to take the final step up and is set to become the CM, replacing his old rival and party colleague Siddaramaiah.Among the leading Congress leaders in the state, the tag of “troubleshooter” is often associated with Shivakumar, whose rise has been shaped largely by grassroots mobilisation and organisational acumen.

His strongman image has found resonance among a section of youth in Karnataka and neighbouring Kerala, even as his political career remains shadowed by multiple allegations. In many ways, Shivakumar remains both a formidable leader and a polarising figure in Karnataka politics. Read our analytical piece by Akram M

“I neither chased money nor craved to build properties; my political life is an open book,” says Congress leader Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah says, 'High command asked me to enter the Rajya Sabha. But, I humbly rejected the offer saying that I am not interested in national politics. People have elected me for five years. There is still two years to go. Till then, I will serve here.'

"My political career is almost 50 years old. It is an open book," says Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah says, "Due to the lack of equal opportunities, there is inequality in our society. To get rid of this inequality, everyone should be given equal opportunity. For that, during my tenures as CM, we made attempts to bring in equality. Whatever we promised in the manifesto, we tried to fulfill them in a honest manner."

Siddaramaiah says, "I got the opportunity to serve seven crore Kannadigas as CM twice, and as Leader of Opposition twice. I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge."

Akram reports

Siddaramaiah says,"I am a politician. I believe that Constitution is our religion and voters are like God."

Here's what Siddaramaiah said at the press briefing:

"I have resigned as Chief Minister at Lok Bhavan."

"Governor is not in town. His office told me that Governor would return in the evening. Therefore, I handed over the resignation letter at his office."

K Siddaramaiah has submitted his resignation letter to the Secretary at the Lok Bhavan and is currently addressing a press briefing. The Governor is out of town.

At a breakfast meeting this morning, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, 78, finally ended all speculation and told his cabinet colleagues that he will step down as CM at 3 pm today. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is set to take over the top post, with two to three Deputy CMs.

A section of legislators is learnt to have urged the CM to ensure that the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is held to pick Siddarmaiah’s successor. Picking a successor at the CLP meeting could jeopardise Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s prospects as the Siddaramaiah camp could back Home Minister G Parameshwara for the top post.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has told his Cabinet colleagues that he will step down from the post. The announcement was made at a breakfast meeting on Thursday. His deputy DK Shivakumar was also present at the meeting. Siddaramaiah is likely to formally tender his resignation at 3 PM.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is holding a breakfast meeting with the members of the state cabinet. Speculations are rife that he will announce his resignation at the meeting. Ahead of this, the CM is learnt to have held discussions with AICC general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala.

Ahead of breakfast meeting with his Cabinet, CM is learnt to have held a meeting with AICC general secretary RS Surjewala

Siddaramaiah’s tenure as Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister is likely to come to an end today as he is expected to step down from the post to make way for a new leader. According to sources, the CM has sought an appointment from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to submit his resignation.

A change of guard in the three-year-old Karnataka government seems imminent with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking the Governor's appointment, a day after he was apparently asked by the party high command to make way for his deputy DK Shivakumar's elevation to the top post, but said he will speak on the matter on Thursday.

On a day he is likely to meet Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, apparently to tender his resignation, the 77-year-old veteran on Thursday will also host his cabinet colleagues, including Shivakumar, for breakfast.

As the political heat rises in the southern state in anticipation of a new CM, AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala clarified that the Congress has not called for a meeting of its legislature party in the state and that no other decision has been taken yet. He requested the media not to speculate on the issue.

The Legislature Party selects its leader, the obvious choice for CM.

Surjewala, who arrived here on Wednesday, also met Siddaramaiah and other senior leaders. Intense speculation suggests Siddaramaiah will announce stepping down from the CM post, mostly on Thursday, to make way for Shivakumar.

The development follows the Congress high command reportedly asking Siddaramaiah to make way for a leadership change in the state and offering him a central role in the party with a Rajya Sabha seat. As per reports Siddaramaiah has not immediately accepted the central role.

Some sources indicate Siddaramaiah may have decided to step down because the message came directly from top party leader Rahul Gandhi. The CM has repeatedly stated that he would step down if the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked him to do so.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Tuesday by the party, where there were back-to-back meetings at the Congress headquarters involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Surjewala.

Keeping up the suspense, the 77-year-old Siddaramaiah refused to comment on the raging speculations on Wednesday and said he would speak on the matter a day later.

Senior Congress MLA and Chairperson of the Administrative Reforms Commission R V Deshpande claimed that Siddaramaiah told him he had decided to resign.

PTI

Senior Congress MLA and Chairperson of the Administrative Reforms Commission R V Deshpande on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told him he had decided to resign.

The former minister, who met Siddaramaiah at his residence, said that when some MLAs insisted he should not resign, the CM replied that he had given his word to the high command and would respect it.

PTI

“CM Siddaramaiah will reveal tomorrow what was discussed with high command in New Delhi and what would be his next move”, says Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi on speculations of leadership change in the state.

PTI input

Amid the buzz over Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah stepping down from his post, Industries Minister MB Patil said there is no such question arising. 

As the buzz of his stepping down as the Karnataka Chief Minister grows, Siddaramaiah took to his X account to take pride in the works done by the Congress government that just completed three years. Dedicating all the achievements to "every Kanndiga", he said the government has "steadfastly" adhered to every promise made to the people of the state before the last Assembly elections.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, believed to be next in line to replace Siddaramaiah, is in Delhi and will travel to Bengaluru tomorrow to participate in the breakfast meeting. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala are also likely to be present.

Amid the buzz of a change of guard in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is known to have sought an appointment from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot tomorrow to submit his resignation, sources said. The longest-serving chief minister of the state, having held the position for a little over eight years, Siddaramaiah, is also slated to hold a breakfast meeting with the state Cabinet members on Thursday morning.