Power tussle | 'War of the Words' spills on to social media as Siddaramaiah takes veiled dig at deputy Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday appeared to take a dig at his deputy DK Shivakumar on keeping promises in an exchange on 'X' that came amidst a leadership tussle between the two.

On Thursday morning, Shivakumar tweeted a statement he made Wednesday at the Congress' Constitution Day: "Word power is world power. Keeping one's word is the greatest power in the world!"

This was widely interpreted as a reminder to Siddaramaiah about his alleged promise that he would make way for Shivakumar after November 20, when the government reached the halfway mark in its tenure.

"Be it a judge, president or anyone else including myself, everyone has to walk the talk," Shivakumar wrote.

Shivakumar's gained a lot of traction throughout Thursday intertwined with speculation that he is waiting to replace Siddaramaiah.

On Thursday evening came Siddaramaiah's tweet as if it was a response to Shivakumar's. "A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people," the CM wrote.

Siddaramaiah said the five flagship 'guarantee' schemes were implemented "from the very first month of forming the government" and this was done "not in words, but on the ground".

The CM highlighted that women have taken 600 crore free bus rides through Shakti, 1.24 crore women-led families get money under Gruha Lakshmi, three lakh youth getting Yuva Nidhi unemployment allowance, 4.08 crore citizens getting free Anna Bhagya rice and 1.64 crore families receiving free Gruha Jyoti electricity.

Siddaramaiah said he had a 95% delivery of promises by fulfilling 157 of 165 manifesto in his first term (2013-18). "In this term, 243+ promises out of 593 are already completed and every remaining promise will be fulfilled with commitment, credibility and care," he said.

"The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years. The Congress party, including me, is walking the talk for our people with compassion, consistency, and courage," Siddaramaiah said. "Our word to Karnataka is not a slogan, it means the world to us."