DK Shivakumar for reorganising state Congress into cadre-based party

In a bid to reinvent the Congress party in the state, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that the mass-based organisation would soon be turned into a cadre-based party.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the divisional-level Sankalpa Samavesha here, Shivakumar said, “ A decision has been taken to reorganise the Congress party in the state into a cadre-based party. Views and suggestions of the party workers and leaders are being elicited on the same. The PCC, DCC and block committees will be revamped and the leaders and the workers will be promoted based on their seniority, capacity and organisational
skills.”

Replying to a query on the party candidates for the upcoming bypolls, the KPCC president said, “I will meet the ticket aspirants for the bypolls to Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency and Basavkalyan and Maski Assembly segments on January 20. After which, the names will be short-listed and the same will be sent to the party high command.”

Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s double engine power of Modi and Yediyurappa comment, Shivakumar said, “The double engines have failed to
deliver.”

Shivakumar said the Centre had meted out injustice to the north Karnataka by not solving the stand-off between Karnataka and Goa over river water-sharing. He demanded that the Modi government to clarify its stand on Mahadayi water dispute. The Union government should also announce Upper Krishna Project as a national project, he urged.

‘Belagavi is ours’

On Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s statement of incorporating the Karnataka-occupied areas into Maharashtra, Shivakumar said, “The Karnataka Congress will not compromise on the matters related to land, language and waters of the state. Belagavi is an integral part of Karnataka. There is no need to attach much importance to such remarks being issued for the political gains,”

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar’s Sankalpa Samavesha address revolved around the need for reinventing the party in the state and creating awareness among the people about the anti-people policies of BJP governments in the state and the Centre.