Deputy Chief Minister looks on as AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala addresses a press conference.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: As AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala continued to hold one-on-one meetings with several ministers on Wednesday, opposition BJP and JD(S) took a dig at the ruling Congress, calling him "super CM".
They also asked whether "Randeep rule" has been imposed in the state.
While Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and BJP leader R Ashoka claimed that the Congress high command, which has completely lost confidence in CM Siddaramaiah, has imposed a "Randeep rule" in Karnataka.
Surjewala's one-on-one meetings with ministers entered the third day on Wednesday. These meetings are said to be aimed at understanding their grievances, assessing their performance, and addressing the complaints shared by the party MLAs against the ministers.
Earlier, the AICC General Secretary had held two rounds of one-on-one meetings with party legislators in the state.
"Is Randeep rule implemented in the state? Will Thursday's cabinet meeting also be chaired by Surjewala?" Ashoka asked in a post on 'X'.
"The Congress high command, which has completely lost confidence in the lottery CM Siddaramaiah, has imposed a "Randeep rule" in Karnataka," he claimed and said, "It should not be surprising if Surjewala, who is listening to the complaints and grievances of dissatisfied MLAs in the KPCC office and five-star hotels and reviewing the performance of ministers, comes to the cabinet meeting to be held at the Vidhana Soudha on Thursday and presides over it himself."
"CM Siddaramaiah has no control over the administration, and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar does not have the support of the MLAs, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi does not have the power to appoint whoever he wants as the Chief Minister," Ashoka alleged.
"Overall, the Congress party in Karnataka is in a state of "limbo" without a single leader who can handle the post of Chief Minister effectively," Ashoka claimed.
Meanwhile, JD(S) State Youth President Nikhil Kumaraswamy in a post on 'X' sarcastically said, "Congratulations to Surjewala on his silent elevation as the Super CM of Karnataka." "Looks like the elected CM has handed Surjewala a GPA to run the government," he slammed.
"Democratically elected MLAs are now forced to bow before a 'Surjewala Sarkar' for constituency development funds," he claimed.
"Siddaramaiah is outgoing (as CM), D K Shivakumar is incoming, but Surjewala is already ruling," Nikhil Kumaraswamy claimed, pointing at CM change speculations within the ruling Congress.
The Congress has reduced Karnataka to a puppet state, he said, calling it "a total mockery of federalism and democracy."