Bengaluru: Amid speculation about a change of chief minister, AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala clarified on Wednesday that the Congress has not called a meeting of its legislature party in the state and no other decision has been taken yet.
He requested the media not to speculate on the issue.
Asserting that the party will make decisions not in favour of individuals but in favour of Karnataka, he said the Congress is capable of deciding its leadership matters and would inform the public whenever any decision is taken.
He also requested the media not to speculate on leadership in Karnataka. “Congress is capable of deciding on leadership; we will inform whenever we decide,” he said.
Surjewala arrived in Bengaluru on Wednesday amid recurring discussions around leadership transition within the ruling Congress in the state.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that no one was aware of the discussions held during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ‘s recent meeting with the Congress high command in Delhi and expressed hope that Surjewala’s visit would bring clarity.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said Surjewala’s visit will clear up all the confusion tomorrow amid speculation surrounding the state leadership.
“Yesterday, the high command leaders called the CM. The CM met them. But no one knows what was discussed inside. We have no information yet. State incharge Randeep Surjewala is coming to Bengaluru today. He will clear up all the confusion tomorrow. We still don’t know about the internal discussions. We only know what KC Venugopal said. That’s all I have to say,” Parmeshwatra told reporters.
Surjewala, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar were present at the meeting.
After the Delhi meeting, Venugopal dismissed reports of any leadership change, saying the discussions focused solely on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Council polls.
“Today, we had a detailed meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, and I were part of the discussion. The entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council elections of Karnataka,” Venugopal had said.
Speculation over the chief ministerial post in Karnataka has surfaced repeatedly since the Congress government completed two-and-a-half years in office.
