Congress high command to take call on leadership: Manjunath Bhandary

New Delhi: Congress Karnataka unit Working President Manjunath Bhandary said on Saturday that only the Congress high command is authorised to discuss the issue of leadership change in Karnataka, and the views of other leaders on this matter "hold no value".

"The Congress high command will take a decision on the leadership issue. The party has already instructed other leaders not to speak on this issue. Since the matter is seized by the party's high command, the opinions of the remaining leaders are irrelevant," he told reporters here.

Reacting to Ramanagara MLA Iqbal Hussain's statement that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will assume the charge as Chief Minister on January 6, Bhandary said, "It is his personal opinion. The party's top leadership has not made any statement on the leadership issue."

Separately, senior Congress leader and former minister H M Revanna said the party's top leaders must take action against all leaders who speak publicly on the leadership issue.

"Whether it is the CM's son Yathindra or any other leader, all must follow the party line and not speak on this issue," he said.