Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A day after stepping down as Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Friday,
Sources said Rahul Gandhi was visibly pleased during the meeting and praised Siddaramaiah for honouring the Congress leadership transition plan. “You have become an example to other Congress leaders by sacrificing the chair for the promise. I’m extremely happy looking at the commitment you’ve shown for the party and ideology,” Rahul Gandhi told him, according to sources.
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The former CM laid out a detailed set of demands before the party high command, ranging from cabinet representation and community balance to key portfolios for his son Yathindra Siddaramaiah.
The high command also assured Siddaramaiah that Yathindra would be accommodated in the government and could be considered for any portfolio required.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah is yet to submit the names of his loyalists for induction into the new DK Shivakumar-led cabinet. He is expected to finalise the list on Friday and hand it over to Congress leader Randeep Surjewala during the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Saturday.
One of Siddaramaiah’s key interventions before the high command concerned the structure of the new government. Sources said he argued against appointing deputy chief ministers unless all major communities receive adequate representation. Siddaramaiah reportedly told the leadership that if deputy chief minister posts are to be created, one representative each from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and Lingayat community should be accommodated. Without such social balance, he said, there was no need for deputy chief ministers in the government.
The former Chief Minister also submitted lists of names for Rajya Sabha and MLC appointments, along with his preferences for cabinet portfolios. Sources said he pushed for important departments for Yathindra, including Medical Education and Backward Classes Welfare. As alternatives, he suggested Industries or Water Resources, a portfolio that was previously held by DK Shivakumar.
Despite stepping down as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah has shown little interest in moving to national politics. Sources said the Congress high command offered him a Rajya Sabha berth, but he declined.
“I’ll continue in active politics. I have no interest in national politics,” Siddaramaiah said on Thursday. “I was also asked about the Rajya Sabha. I declined it. I want to remain in Karnataka politics.”
Almost three years after the Congress staged a comeback in Karnataka, the long-running power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar appears to have entered a decisive phase.
On Thursday, Siddaramaiah stepped down as chief minister after the Congress leadership asked him to hand over the reins to Shivakumar, ending days of speculation over the state’s leadership. Yet, the veteran leader signalled that he is not ready to retreat from active politics, rejecting a reported offer of a Rajya Sabha berth and insisting that he will continue to play a significant role in Karnataka’s political landscape.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
