‘Just courtesy call’: MLC Hariprasad meets CM Siddaramaiah, urges Cong workers to avoid leadership talk

BENGALURU: Congress MLC B K Hariprasad on Friday dismissed speculation over his meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, calling it a “courtesy call” and saying there was “no curiosity” attached to it, after he met the CM at the latter’s official residence.

Hariprasad said he had not met Siddaramaiah for three months due to his engagements with the West Bengal election and the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections. “There is no curiosity. It’s a courtesy call. Since three months, I had not met him because I was busy with the West Bengal election and the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections. It’s just a courtesy call, nothing else”, he said.

He added that Kharge’s word as Congress president was “final” and needed no interpretation. Making an appeal to party workers, he said they should refrain from commenting on the leadership issue.

“Mallikarjun Kharge ji is the Congress president. Once he has made a statement, that’s final. I don’t think so, there is no need for anybody to interpret what he has said. I think my only sincere appeal to all Congress workers, when the supreme authority and as a Congress president, when he has given a statement, we should refrain from making statements on this leadership issue. it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister and the High Command that they have to decide and nothing else”, he stated.

“It is the prerogative of the Chief Minister and the high command. They have to decide and nothing else”, Hariprasad added.

On Friday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge clarified that any decision regarding a possible change in Karnataka Chief Minister will be taken collectively by the party’s high command, comprising himself, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress government in Karnataka has been witnessing internal differences over leadership-sharing arrangements, particularly between supporters of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Sections within the party have been demanding that Shivakumar be made Chief Minister for the remaining term, citing an alleged 2023 “power-sharing agreement”.

The leadership tussle has led to multiple rounds of discussions between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in an effort to avoid escalation and maintain stability within the state government.

Speaking on the recent LPG price rise, Hariprasad said Rahul Gandhi had “proved right” on his pre-poll warning of price hikes, and held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the rise in gas and petroleum rates. He said BJP leaders and “their troll army” had ridiculed the statement then.

“Rahul Gandhi ji had said it before the elections, after the Iran war, he had categorically said that after the elections, the prices of gas, petroleum products will be hiked. And most of the BJP leaders and their troll army ridiculed the statement of my leader Rahul Gandhi ji, but now he has proved right and the way they are increasing the prices, today it is the commercial gas, tomorrow it is domestic gas and then the petroleum products, the rate of petroleum products and in coming days the price rise will be the will be touching the sky and Mr. Modi should take all the responsibility for this huge hike in the price prices,” he told ANI.

Prices of commercial LPG cylinders were increased by around Rs 993, taking the cost of a 19 kg cylinder in Delhi to Rs 3,071.50 from Friday, raising input costs for businesses, while domestic LPG prices remain unchanged. There has been no change in the price of the 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder, which continues to be used by around 33 crore households across the country.

The revision applies only to commercial and bulk LPG categories, which together account for a relatively smaller share of overall LPG consumption in India. Domestic LPG, which is subsidised and widely used for cooking, has been kept out of the latest price revision.

The hike comes against the backdrop of volatile global crude oil prices, which have remained elevated in recent weeks due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Brent crude had touched $126 per barrel on Thursday, before falling to $113 per barrel on Friday.

Since India imports a significant portion of its LPG requirements, domestic pricing of commercial and non-subsidised cylinders is linked to international benchmarks and is revised on a monthly basis. (ANI)