‘CM, I will adhere to party line’: DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said that it was not wrong for the party workers, people and the seers to desire certain things. However, he stated that he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would adhere to the party line.

Speaking to reporters at his Kodihalli residence in Kanakapura taluk, he said, “AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge has asked us not to talk about it. It would be wrong to speak about it now. We all adhere to what the party says.”

“Siddaramaiah has said it many times, but the Opposition and media keep raising that issue. There is no need to talk about it now. People have elected us, reposing faith in us, and we are fulfilling our promise,” he said.

When asked about Rambapuri Seer’s statement that he should become the CM as per the agreement, Kharge said, “Why should I talk about it openly? It is between me and my party. We are all working together in the party.”

Praising Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for his efforts to strengthen the party in the state, Rambapuri seer Sri Rajadeshikendra Shivacharya today said that he deserved a higher position after the last elections.

Speaking at an event organised to inaugurate the steps at the Siddeshwaraswamy hills in Kanakapura taluk, he said, “He should have got a higher position after the last elections. May he get a higher position in the days to come.”

“The people of Karnataka are aware of his hard work in securing a sweeping majority for the party in the state. The agreement among national leaders, CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar is only known to them. Political leaders will be respected if they respect the arrangement they had before the national leaders,” he said.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah clarified the confusion surrounding his appointment as the chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) Other Backward Classes (OBC) Advisory Council.

According to Siddaramaiah, he is yet to receive official confirmation about his appointment.

Earlier, he refuted any claims of being appointed the chairman of the AICC’s Backward Classes Advisory Committee, saying that he will only host the meeting in Karnataka.

However, the Congress leader said that if orders are given to him by the party’s high command, he would readily accept the responsibility.

“I have been appointed as a member of the AICC Backward Classes Advisory Committee. The media has misinterpreted this and reported that I have been appointed as the chairman of the committee. This is incorrect information,” he said in a post on X. (ANI)