‘Kumaraswamy always thinking about annihilating us, won’t become CM in 2028’: DK Shivakumar

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 27 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy's politics revolve around the Congress party, adding that JDS Supremo will not become the Chief Minister in 2028.
"Kumaraswamy is always thinking about annihilating us. His politics is entirely cantered around it. We are not changing Ramanagar's name; he changed the name illegally when he was in power. The people of Ramanagara district are Bangaloreans and will always remain so," he said, speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha.
"When Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda came from Hassan, it was Bengaluru. It was Bengaluru even when he became the Chief Minister and the Prime minister. But Kumaraswamy changed the name of the district when he came to power," he said.
"The administrative headquarters of the district will continue to be Ramanagara. We have taken this decision to change the name of the district, keeping in mind the future of the people. The people are very happy with the decision," he said.
Asked about Kumaraswamy's statement that he would rename it back as Ramanagara district when he comes to power in 2028, he challenged, "Mark my word, he will not become the Chief minister in 2028 as Congress party will come back to power in the next Assembly election."
The Karnataka cabinet on Friday approved the renaming of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South, a decision followed by an announcement made by by Deputy CM DK Shivakumar.
Defending the government's decision, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday that the state government's intention in renaming Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South is to showcase the city as a good investment destination.
"What the government intends to do is to showcase Bengaluru for better investment opportunities. It is not just the renaming of Ramanagara; it is hardly an hour away from CBD (Central Business District) and if we can showcase a greater Bengaluru, it will be a good investment destination. There is nothing wrong with it," Priyank Kharge told ANI.
Meanwhile, voicing discontent with the Karnataka Government's decision to change the name of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South, BJP MP from Karnataka Iranna Kadadi labelled it as a "political game" of the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister.
"This is just due to the politics of the Deputy Chief Minister. They do not like Ram's name. Name change does not mean development. How much they have spent on development is something that should be told to the people...It is a political game," said BJP MP from Karnataka, Iranna Kadadi while speaking to ANI.
BJP MP Pralhad Joshi also condemned the decision, stating that the Congress party opposes "Ram," which is why they renamed Ramanagara district.
"This shows their allergy towards Ram and Ram Mandir, even to the name of Ram. They are quite allergic. They used to do it while we were constructing the Ram Mandir. But with the decision to rename Ramanagara, the Congress party and the Congress government have proven that they are against Ram. Nobody had demanded this. MP Manjunath had also written that the name should not be changed. But this is being done for vote-bank politics and greed for real estate. Siddaramaiah says that when it comes to Ram, he has Ram in his name. If that is the case, why are you doing this? I strongly condemn this and I ask, demand and urge them to withdraw this proposal; otherwise, the BJP will strongly oppose this and the local unit will agitate for it," Joshi said while speaking to ANI. (ANI)