Minister: Cong top brass has said no one should speak on leadership

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said that the AICC General Secretary, representing the Congress high command, instructed everyone in the ruling party not to make any statements regarding a change of guard in the state. He said that he and other leaders will discuss and decide on the next steps regarding the meeting of Congress leaders, ministers, and lawmakers from SC/ST communities, which was postponed last week. "Our General Secretary, Randeep Singh Surjewala, who represents the high command, has instructed us not to talk about any change. So, we will say less about it," Parameshwara told reporters when asked about the issue of a potential Chief Minister change." Responding to Minister R B Timmapur's reported statement about Dalits becoming Chief Minister, while also pointing out that he is a Dalit, Parameshwara who is also a Dalit and seen as a CM aspirant said, "He (Timmapur) is also capable; he has been in politics for over 30 years." Amid the power struggle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, the party leadership, during a legislature party meeting on Monday attended by Surjewala, instructed all its lawmakers not to make public statements and emphasized that everyone must abide by the high command's decisions.

This message to Congress legislators comes in the wake of several members, including Ministers, openly speaking to the media about the leadership change. While some have hinted at its possibility, others have rejected the idea outright. Siddaramaiah's recent dinner with select Dalit and ST Cabinet colleagues at Minister Satish Jarkiholi's residence has created a buzz within the Congress, amid speculation of a possible change of guard in the state after the budget presentation in March. Such an agreement was reportedly reached in 2023, following the party's electoral victory, with both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar now the Deputy CM competing for the top post.

While Shivakumar and his supporters appear to be waiting for Siddaramaiah to step down in line with the power-sharing agreement, party sources indicate that the Chief Minister's followers are in no mood to accept Shivakumar as the leader. Regarding the postponed meeting of the party's SC/ST leaders under his leadership, Parameshwara said, "Now that the meeting has been postponed, we will discuss and decide on the next move." In response to a question about reported instructions from the leadership that community-related meetings of party leaders, including those from SC/ST communities, to discuss their issues, will be organised by the state Congress itself, Parameshwara said, "Let them do it. Who said no?" He further said, "Are we not the party? Is the party different from us? We are the party. If we are there, the party exists. By 'we,' I mean the public community. Congress is a party built by the public community. The Congress party is a movement. That's why we say Congress is not a cadre-based party it is a movement. Let whoever wants to interpret it in their own way do so." A meeting of Congress leaders, ministers, and lawmakers from SC/ST communities, scheduled for January 8 evening under the leadership of Parameshwara, was postponed following instructions from Surjewala.

According to sources, this came after Shivakumar met AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal. A section within the Congress believes that the planned SC/ST convention and Parameshwara's meeting could revive the demand for a Dalit CM.