3 weeks ago
Last Updated:January 13, 2025, 21:27 IST
Karnataka home minister Dr G Parameshwara is reportedly upset after a dinner meeting he had organised with SC/ST legislators and MPs was cancelled on senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala
As a mark of protest, Karnataka home minister Dr G Parameshwara and cooperation minister KN Rajanna did not attend a closed-door meeting called by Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on January 13. (Image: PTI/X)
Karnataka’s home minister Dr G Parameshwara and cooperation minister KN Rajanna are two extremely upset leaders, so much so that they “boycotted" an important meeting with Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Monday.
As a mark of protest, Parameshwara and Rajanna did not attend the closed-door meeting called by Surjewala, who is in Karnataka to review preparations for the mega ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ convention in Belagavi on January 21.
Parameshwara is reportedly upset after Surjewala intervened on the request of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to cancel a dinner meeting he had scheduled with SC/ST legislators and MPs on January 8. According to sources, this reflects Shivakumar’s influence with the party’s high command.
The deputy chief minister, who enjoys the support of several legislators, is said to be uneasy with the home minister’s attempts to consolidate SC/ST support that could disrupt his purported plans of making it to the chief minister’s chair.
Rajanna, meanwhile, is a staunch Siddaramaiah loyalist and has been at loggerheads with Shivakumar. He recently declared that he will be willing to take over as the state Congress chief if the top leadership offered him the role – this is a post held by Shivakumar at present.
The absence of both, however, was not taken lightly by the high command, which pulled them up for their alleged indiscipline. A Congress leader said they were asked to attend the meetings of the party.
“Parameshwara ji has been PCC president, he is an organisation man, he has run the party, he knows the discipline of the party. I have conveyed my sentiments within the party to the other minister as well," Surjewala said about their absence.
CHANGE OF GUARD AHEAD?
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held later was significant, given the backdrop of murmurs about a change in the CM’s post. A warning was issued to all party leaders to refrain from making statements on a change of guard at the CM or the state chief level, creating more controversy.
In a veiled swipe at Shivakumar, Rajanna suggested that the deputy CM should focus on leading the party in the next assembly elections rather than eyeing the CM’s post midway through the government’s term.
Parameshwara’s dinner meeting was projected by the Shivakumar camp as an attempt to rally forces in his favour. A Dalit leader, he has maintained that he is the strongest candidate for Karnataka CM from his community. This is particularly so if the Congress high command finds itself caught between the strongest AHINDA leader, two-time CM Siddaramaiah, and Shivakumar, the loyalist and troubleshooter deputy CM.
He has claimed that he is best suited for the job, having previously served as deputy CM in the Congress-JD(S) government between 2018 and 2019. Sources close to him said if the Congress is planning to implement the unspoken pre-poll agreement of handing over the CM baton from Siddaramaiah to Shivakumar halfway through the tenure, it could cause a power struggle.
Parameshwara will be the most eligible candidate to lead the state. There is widespread speculation of a possible leadership change after March, and the minister has been trying to consolidate support of the SC/ST communities.
WHAT’S DINNER GOT TO DO WITH THIS?
On January 3, another dinner meeting organised by Siddaramaiah’s loyalists and hosted by cabinet minister Satish Jarkiholi, when Shivakumar was on a personal holiday in Turkey, had sparked a lot of controversy.
Shivakumar, upon hearing about these dinner meetings, is said to have met with senior Congress leader KC Venugopal in Delhi and asked him to send out a stern message to the state unit to immediately stop such moves. He told the senior leader this would portray the party in the wrong light and give the opposition a reason to attack the ruling government.
Amid these rumours, the Shivakumar camp is making efforts to convince the top leadership of the Congress to align with the post-poll agreement. But, Siddaramaiah is confident that he will continue and complete the full five-year term as CM.
“There is no confusion among us. The media repeatedly reports that the CM will be changed, even though the chair is not vacant. Yet, such claims continue to be made. It is speculated and reported as a political discussion if we meet over food. Sometimes, even dialogues are fabricated about what we might have discussed, based purely on speculation," he said at an event on Sunday (January 12).
He added that the media was still reporting that a change of guard in the state was in the offing, which he said was a claim that the BJP was using to mislead the media.
Shivakumar played a crucial role in the party’s victory in 2023. When the time came to decide who would lead the Congress as CM, the high command appointed Siddaramaiah.
It is said the Shivakumar camp is pained by the fact that there was an unwritten agreement that Siddaramaiah would step aside for his deputy after two-and-a-half years. With this timeline approaching, these dinner meetings have sent this side into a tizzy.
‘WE ARE LIKE ARJUNA’
Rajanna has also reignited the push for additional deputy CMs, a proposal he believes will boost Congress prospects in the Lok Sabha elections. Shivakumar is said to have vetoed this.
The minister said he had conveyed to the Congress high command that he was ready to head the Karnataka unit by quitting the cabinet. “There is no question of demanding the KPCC chief’s post by filing an application. I am also an aspirant for the post to build the party," he said.
He, too, has an axe to grind. A Dalit leader himself, he accused the high command of displaying an “anti-SC/ST bias" by blocking Parameshwara’s dinner meet. He has been a proponent of the fact that Siddaramaiah should continue for the next five years and complete a full term as CM.
Surjewala dismissed allegations that the Congress is facing a rift. He blamed the BJP for creating a false narrative in the media. “We are like Arjuna. Whether it is Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar, they are like Arjuna – they can only see the eye of the fish. The eye of the fish before the elections was to form the Congress government. Now that it has been formed, the eye of the fish for them is the guarantees that they are implementing. The BJP is attacking the guarantees and wants to deny the people of Karnataka those guarantees. Any other allegations are manufactured, and I reject them," he said.
Location : First Published:January 13, 2025, 21:27 IST
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