<p>Bengaluru: Having asserted that he would present next year’s Budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday pointed to the Congress high command when asked if there was a midterm power-transfer agreement.</p>.<p>“We’ll abide by the high command’s decision,” Siddaramaiah said in Chikkaballapur when asked about the rumoured power-sharing deal. </p>.<p>“If they (high command) decide I should continue (as CM), I will continue. Ultimately, whatever the high command decides, I should accept it. Shivakumar should also accept it,” Siddaramaiah said. </p>.<p>Siddaramaiah said that the Congress high command agreed for a reshuffle of the Cabinet. “However, I suggested that we should wait until the government completed two-and-a-half years. Now, we’ll follow whatever the high command decides,” he said. </p>.Karnataka HC dismisses plea to set aside Chinnaswamy stadium stampede probe report.<p>Earlier in the day, Home Minister G Parameshwara visited Siddaramaiah’s residence and held talks. This came following Siddaramaiah’s meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday night. On Sunday, Parameshwara said he, too, was in the race for the CM’s post. </p>.<p><strong>‘BJP father of horse trading’</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar refuted the BJP’s claim of ‘horse-trading’ in Congress.</p>.<p>“Purchasing MLAs is what the BJP does. BJP is the father of horse trading,” Shivakumar said. “The JD(S), which was a victim of this, is now stuck with the BJP. When the previous BJP government was formed, thousands of crores were spent,” he said, referring to the defection of MLAs that led to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition in 2019. </p>.<p>Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s statement pointing to the high command on the leadership-change issue, Shivakumar said: “What Siddaramaiah has said is vedavakya (sacrosanct). I respect him. He’s a big asset for our party. We’ll continue to work under his guidance.” </p>.<p>Shivakumar also defended Kharge against attacks from the BJP and JD(S). The Opposition has mocked Kharge as a ‘rubber-stamp president’. </p>.<p>“There’s a system in the party. As Karnataka Congress preisdnet, I can’t take unilateral decisions. Before deciding four names for the upcoming MLC elections, I had to discuss with the CM, district ministers and others. That’s why Kharge said the high command would decide,” Shivakumar explained. </p>.<p><strong>Naga Sadhus ‘bless’ DKS </strong></p><p>A team of Naga Sadhus from Kashi (Varanasi) visited Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s Sadashivanagar residence and blessed him. One ash-clad Sadhu said he blessed Shivakumar for his well-being and so that he would become the chief minister. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Having asserted that he would present next year’s Budget, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday pointed to the Congress high command when asked if there was a midterm power-transfer agreement.</p>.<p>“We’ll abide by the high command’s decision,” Siddaramaiah said in Chikkaballapur when asked about the rumoured power-sharing deal. </p>.<p>“If they (high command) decide I should continue (as CM), I will continue. Ultimately, whatever the high command decides, I should accept it. Shivakumar should also accept it,” Siddaramaiah said. </p>.<p>Siddaramaiah said that the Congress high command agreed for a reshuffle of the Cabinet. “However, I suggested that we should wait until the government completed two-and-a-half years. Now, we’ll follow whatever the high command decides,” he said. </p>.Karnataka HC dismisses plea to set aside Chinnaswamy stadium stampede probe report.<p>Earlier in the day, Home Minister G Parameshwara visited Siddaramaiah’s residence and held talks. This came following Siddaramaiah’s meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday night. On Sunday, Parameshwara said he, too, was in the race for the CM’s post. </p>.<p><strong>‘BJP father of horse trading’</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar refuted the BJP’s claim of ‘horse-trading’ in Congress.</p>.<p>“Purchasing MLAs is what the BJP does. BJP is the father of horse trading,” Shivakumar said. “The JD(S), which was a victim of this, is now stuck with the BJP. When the previous BJP government was formed, thousands of crores were spent,” he said, referring to the defection of MLAs that led to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition in 2019. </p>.<p>Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s statement pointing to the high command on the leadership-change issue, Shivakumar said: “What Siddaramaiah has said is vedavakya (sacrosanct). I respect him. He’s a big asset for our party. We’ll continue to work under his guidance.” </p>.<p>Shivakumar also defended Kharge against attacks from the BJP and JD(S). The Opposition has mocked Kharge as a ‘rubber-stamp president’. </p>.<p>“There’s a system in the party. As Karnataka Congress preisdnet, I can’t take unilateral decisions. Before deciding four names for the upcoming MLC elections, I had to discuss with the CM, district ministers and others. That’s why Kharge said the high command would decide,” Shivakumar explained. </p>.<p><strong>Naga Sadhus ‘bless’ DKS </strong></p><p>A team of Naga Sadhus from Kashi (Varanasi) visited Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s Sadashivanagar residence and blessed him. One ash-clad Sadhu said he blessed Shivakumar for his well-being and so that he would become the chief minister. </p>
