‘Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar focused like Arjun, no rift in K’taka Cong’
Bengaluru: Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Monday said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar are focused like Arjun, adding that there is no internal strife in the state unit of the grand old party.
Speaking at a press conference here, Surjewala said: “Our party leaders, whether it’s Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar, are focused like Arjun on their goals. Their aim is to implement the guarantee schemes effectively and run the government efficiently. The BJP, on the other hand, is unnecessarily criticising the guarantee schemes to create confusion among the people.”
Regarding comments made by minister K.N. Rajanna against the party high command and state unit president, he said: “This question has been asked twice already. If I were to respond, I would say that everything is in disarray within the BJP.
“They themselves are unsure who their leader is — whether it is BJP MLAs Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Ramesh Jarkiholi, the Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, State President B. Y. Vijayendra, National General Secretary B. L. Santosh, Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, or former CM and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai.”
“While their party is undergoing internal strife, they have no right to stand in a glass house and throw stones at others. The BJP is creating unnecessary chaos to cover up its failures,” Surjewala claimed.
Asked about the absence of Ministers Rajanna and G. Parameshwara during the meeting he attended on Monday in which other state unit leaders were also present, he said: “Parameshwara has been the Congress president and has led the party. He is well aware of the discipline within the party. I have already communicated my message to our leaders internally.”
Questioned about the Raipur Resolution, which states that one person should hold only one post, he said: “Yes, this decision was taken. However, in special circumstances, this rule may need to be relaxed.”
He further said: “We have scheduled the ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Constitution’ convention in Belagavi on January 21. We have already explained the purpose of this convention. Additionally, the KPCC President and the Chief Minister have decided to establish 100 Gandhi Bharat offices across the state.
“Next month, in February, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge will lay the foundation stones for all these offices in Bengaluru. Locations for 74 offices have already been identified, and the party will soon decide on the remaining ones.”