Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah Tuesday reiterated in the legislative assembly that he will continue in office until the Congress high command takes a call, brushing aside sustained speculation over a switch at the helm. Following repeated interruptions by BJP members during question hour, Siddaramaiah said he was confident Congress would return to the helm in the 2028 assembly elections too. Amid the testy exchange, Siddaramaiah said he was elected by the people for a full term. “I am the CM at present, I will be CM in future, and I will remain in the position till our high command decides otherwise,” Siddaramaiah said. “People will bless us again in 2028 and, therefore, we will continue at the helm even after the next elections.” Siddaramaiah was replying to a question from Congress’ HD Ranganath, who complained that the primary agriculture cooperative credit society in his Kunigal constituency had received no funds, while Madhugiri, represented by former cooperation minister KN Rajanna, had secured Rs 100 crore. Siddaramaiah pointed out that the Madhugiri society received higher funds as the taluk had 26% SC-ST population compared to 8% in Kunigal. He, however, promised to resolve any disparities, even as he pointed to a reduction in NABARD allocation to Karnataka from Rs 5,600 crore to Rs 3,415 crore. The discussion then took a political turn when opposition leader R Ashoka intervened, referring to a perceived tussle between Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar over the chief minister’s post. Siddaramaiah countered it saying BJP had never secured the people’s mandate and had formed govts in the state by engineering defections through ‘Operation Lotus’. “People have never blessed BJP, and they never will,” the CM said. “On the other hand, they blessed us in 2023 with a mandate to govern the state for five years. They will bless us again in 2028.” At this, S Suresh Kumar of BJP taunted the CM over what he described as a shift in language in recent remarks. “It is like Kanaka Das saying ‘naanu hodare hodenu’ (I will go if I will go),” Kumar said. Siddaramaiah shot back: “Naanu hodare hodenu is a mystical remark by Kanaka Das about salvation. Don’t compare me with him. Ours is a high command-led party, and we all have to abide by its decision. I will remain CM till the high command decides.” When Ashoka asked whether he would be CM “in the real sense”, Siddaramaiah replied, “Listen. The people have blessed us for five years, and I will be CM for the full term.” Home minister G Parameshwara ended the exchange saying no further clarification was needed as the CM had stated his position.
