Rahul skirts query on making a SC leader CM of Karnataka

On a campaign trail ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday deftly sidestepped a query on whether the party would make a Schedule Caste leader the Chief Minister of the state, saying that it is for the high command in Delhi to decide.

Interacting with rural people in the remote B R Hills on the first day of his five-day tour of Karnataka, Gandhi ducked a question from a local on whether the Congress will appoint Karnataka PCC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, a schedule caste leader, as Chief Minister if voted to power.

Apparently aware of the political sensitivities attached to the question, Rahul replied saying that it is for the party’s high command in Delhi to decide.

Cautious that his visit, aimed at interacting with a cross-section of people ahead of the Assembly elections, did not trigger a controversy in the state, Rahul said, “I do not want to comment between Karnataka and Delhi.” He, however, said he was eager to see more youth, particularly from SCs and STs, enter politics and he would spare no effort in encouraging them.