Karnataka: Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar tussle limits Karnataka cabinet to eight mantris | India News – Times of India
His 61-year-old deputy and Congress’s state unit chief DK Shivakumar was sworn in with eight ministers – all senior MLAs, including G Parameshwara, a former deputy CM and state Congress head in 2013 who recently offered to be CM.
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Watch: Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar bows as he enters Vidhana Soudha, touches stairs with forehead, CM Siddaramaiah by his side
Siddaramaiah, 75, took oath in the name of “God”, unlike his first stint in 2013 when he swore by “truth”.
Although the original plan was to administer oath to 28 ministers to ensure a full-fledged cabinet, only eight were sworn in, reportedly due to a factional fight between the camps of the new CM and his deputy.
Siddaramaiah batted for KJ George, MB Patil, Satish Jarkiholi and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, while DKS pitched for G Parameshwara, KH Muniyappa, Ramalinga Reddy, and Priyank Kharge, son of AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Cong: Of 20 oppn parties invited for Sidda swearing-in, 18 turned up
The oath-taking ceremony of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka on Saturday presented a picture of opposition unity, with several senior leaders of non-BJP parties coming together to celebrate the new dispensation in the state.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared the dais with a host of prominent faces from non-BJP parties, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu CM and DMK head MK Stalin, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren of JMM, former J&K CMs Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and actor-politician Kamal Hassan, among others.
Though Congress had not invited Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja were present at the ceremony.
Congress functionaries said they had invited UPA members and like-minded parties, keeping in mind “the need to rebuild a national alliance” for the 2024 general elections. They said representatives of 18 of 20 parties invited to the event turned up. “All these parties are against Modi-led government’s policies and are fighting BJP’s divisive ideology,” said Syed Nasir Hussain, Rajya Sabha member and Congress national spokesperson.
The oath was administered by governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at a grand ceremony attended by 60,000 people at the Kanteerava Sports Stadium.
Deputy CM Shivakumar, who like Siddaramaiah showed up in a panche (dhoti) and shirt, posed with the CM, with wide smiles and their hands entangled in a show of unity. Siddaramaiah holds the distinction of being only the third CM of Karnataka (after S Nijalingappa and D Devaraj Urs) to complete a full term (2013-18). UPA chief Sonia Gandhi did not attend the event reportedly due to health reasons. She said in a personalised video address: “I would like to reassure the people of Karnataka that the Congress government which has been sworn in today will stand by its commitment to implement the promises made to them. I am proud that the first Cabinet meeting has already approved the immediate implementation of our five guarantees.”
The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party was conspicuous by its absence, while Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee deputed Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar to represent Trinamool Congress. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray sent Priyanka Chaturvedi and Anil Desai.
Congress did not invite AAP, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s BRS, YSRCP of Andhra Pradesh CM Jaganmohan Reddy, and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s BJD.
The most striking absentee was Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular), with whom Congress had formed a coalition government in 2018 and fought the 2019 Lok Sabha polls together before parting ways. “These are parties with whom we fight assembly polls in respective states, and we are yet to reach common ground with them,” explained Karnataka PCC working president Saleem Ahmed. “We will reach out to them to widen the base of an anti-BJP alliance under the UPA umbrella.”
Later, addressing the gathering, which comprised a large number of supporters of Siddaramaiah with yellow flags, Rahul Gandhi said: “Nafrat ko mitaya, mohabbat jeeti (hatred was wiped out, love won).” In his maiden press conference as CM, Siddaramaiah blamed PM Modi for the state suffering a financial loss as its legitimate special grant of Rs 5,495 crore mentioned in the interim report of the 15th Finance Commission was not given to it. “Was there any government that did more harm to the state? Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman removed it from the final report. And she is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. Because of Narendra Modi, Karnataka suffered a loss,” he said.
(Inputs by BV Shivashankar)
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Siddaramaiah takes oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in Bengaluru
