CLP, LoP posts shouldn’t be split: Siddaramaiah

The posts of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and Leader of the Opposition should not be separated, Congress leader Siddaramaiah said on Saturday, rejecting this demand his rival faction within the party has made.

Siddaramaiah is the incumbent CLP leader and Leader of the Opposition, but he has tendered his resignation, and the Congress high command is yet to decide on it.

A section of leaders who dislike Siddaramaiah has mounted pressure on the high command to not only accept his resignation, but to separate the two positions by appointing different leaders - as has been done in Maharashtra.

“My personal opinion is that both the posts have to be the identical. They shouldn’t be split or separated,” Siddaramaiah told reporters. “Since Karnataka’s birth, these two posts haven’t been separated. Maharashtra’s political situation is different from Karnataka’s. Why compare?”

Siddaramaiah maintained that it was for the party high command to decide on accepting his resignation to the posts of CLP leader and Leader of the Opposition.

Asked about the delay in appointing a new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Siddaramaiah said the high command will make an announcement soon. Former minister D K Shivakumar is said to be the frontrunner for the post and Siddaramaiah has reportedly opposed his appointment.

It is also said that Siddaramaiah has proposed appointing four working presidents. “I’ve said there have to be working presidents; I haven’t specified a number,” he said.