'Everything is fine between Siddaramaiah and me': D K Shivakumar amid 'truce' violations

Belagavi: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday maintained that he had no differences with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Shivakumar was reacting to Congress MLC and Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra's statement that his father would complete a full five-year term.

“Everything is fine. There is no difference between me and the chief minister. It was never there, it is not there today and won’t be in the future,” Shivakumar said. “I didn’t understand what he (Yathindra) said. I will speak to him," he said.

Reacting to Yathindra’s remarks, Siddaramaiah on Monday reiterated that he would abide by whatever decision the party high command takes. On Tuesday, Yathindra said: “Let anyone say whatever they want. I have said what I had to. I don’t want to react further.”

Yathindra’s statement was widely seen as a ‘ceasefire violation’ after Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held breakfast meetings and decided to go by whatever the Congress high command decided.

“Instead of keeping their mouths shut, why are people speaking? When (Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar) are united, why issue statements?” Sagar MLA Belur Gopalakrishna said.

‘Welcome CM Shivakumar’

Congress MLC Channaraj Hattiholi contributed to the ceasefire violation in Congress with a social media post welcoming “Chief Minister DK Shivakumar” to Belagavi on Tuesday.

Hattiholi’s sister, Women & Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, regretted the error. The glaring mistake did not go unnoticed amid the leadership tussle.

“This was a lapse. We don’t post things ourselves. There are handlers. My brother told me about the error and it was rectified immediately,” Hebbalkar said.

‘King is alive’

Meanwhile, Urban Development Minister BS Suresha (Byrathi) said Siddaramaiah will choose his political successor. This was a reaction to senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad’s suggestion that Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi was eligible to become the CM’s heir.

“It is Siddaramaiah who should name his successor to the Ahinda leadership. The king is alive. So, this question (on succession) doesn’t arise,” Suresha said.

‘Citizens, MLAs wagering on CM post’

Poking the governing Congress over the leadership tussle, BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar told the Assembly that bets are being placed on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.

“Citizens and MLAs are placing bets on who will be the CM next month,” Kumar said in a segue during a discussion online betting games.