‘Keep quiet’: Congress MP Chandrashekhar slams party leaders over remarks on change of CM in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Congress working president GC Chandrashekhar on Thursday lashed out at his colleagues HD Ranganath and LR Shivarame Gowda over their remarks suggesting a change of Chief Minister in the state, asking them to “keep quiet”.

Chandrashekhar said that the instructions to issue show-cause notices to former MP Gowda and Tumkur MLA Ranganath were given by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar. He further stated that action will be taken against the two leaders over their remarks.

“HD Ranganath and LR Shivarame Gowda cannot do anything. They are just party workers. They cannot take any decisions on behalf of the Congress party or the high command. They should keep quiet. This is not a healthy thing to talk like this, and it is not good for the party. Even the high command instructed them not to go to the media and talk like this. The PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) President instructed me to give a notice.

They are unnecessary, creating problems. Action will be taken,” Chandrashekhar, who is also a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha said.

The Karnataka Congress on Thursday issued notices against two of its leaders, LR Shivarame Gowda and HD Ranganath, demanding an explanation for their statements suggesting that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will be the next Chief Minister of the state.

“It is learnt that LR Shivarame Gowda made a statement to the media yesterday regarding the change of Chief Minister. You made this statement despite the AICC’s instructions not to make any public statements on this issue that may cause any confusion or embarrassment to the party,” the Disciplinary Committee of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said in its notice.

Labelling Gowda’s statements as “unruly”, Congress issued a notice asking for the reason behind making such remarks, and said that it was a “violation of party discipline”.

“Your media statements in this regard not only embarrass the party but also lead to a violation of party discipline. We have taken your unruly statements seriously and have issued you a notice asking for the reason. You have been asked to provide an explanation for your statements within one week of receiving this notice,” it added.

The Disciplinary Committee of KPCC issued a similar notice to Congress MLA HD Ranganath, who said that he would like to see his “political guru” (DK Shivakumar) in the CM’s chair.

This move comes a day after former Congress MP Gowda said that there was no doubt about DK Shivakumar becoming the Chief Minister in the future.

“There is no doubt about DK Shivakumar becoming the CM. The party knows what to do and when to do it; those who have worked for the party will benefit 100 per cent, there is no doubt about that. As per my information, there will be one decision in November, DK told us that the high command assured them of two and a half years for both (Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for CM).”

Congress MLA Ranganath also praised Shivakumar, calling him a “rising star” and a “pan-India leader”.

As this happened, Shivakumar warned his colleagues in Congress, publicly discussing the change of guard in the Karnataka government. He stated that he had instructed KPCC Working President GC Chandrashekar to issue notices to those who spoke about the change of Chief Minister.

“We don’t need to react to what the BJP says. Let them say what they want to say. I have instructed our working president, GC Chandrashekar, to give notice to them. No one should say anything related to the CM post,” Shivakumar told reporters.

“No need to discuss the CM post sharing. CM Siddaramaiah and I are working together. We are following the guidelines of the high command,” he added. (ANI)