Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President
Kalaburagi (Karnataka): There is a strong discussion in the political circles about appointing three Deputy Chief Ministers in Karnataka. Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s statement in this regard has also come out. He has asked the ministers to concentrate on their work. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday that such demands should not be made when elections are near. Kharge denied that he had received any such demand yet. He said that party leaders should focus on solving the problems of the people.
When asked about the demand for appointment of three deputy chief ministers in the state, Kharge said, “Ask this question to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.” The Congress President said that this matter has not yet come to him. Slamming the leaders making such demands, Kharge said, “Such speculations should not be made during elections. We should focus on the functioning of the government, people’s problems and implementation of guarantees.” He said that Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are making efforts towards achieving these goals. “We should refrain from discussing such things until we achieve our goals,” he said.
Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna had recently demanded the appointment of three Deputy Chief Ministers in the state, saying this would help the Congress win maximum seats in the Lok Sabha elections. He gave the example of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where there is more than one Deputy Chief Minister. Amid Karnataka Cooperation Minister K Rajanna’s advocacy for three Deputy Chief Ministers in the state, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had said that the party high command has to take a decision in this regard.
Rajanna has been insisting that Karnataka should have three Deputy Chief Ministers instead of one. He said that no one had advised him to make this demand. He says that he said this keeping this in mind that having three Deputy Chief Ministers will help in the Lok Sabha elections. It is not that this will happen as soon as I give my statement. I have merely requested the party high command and brought it to their notice. It is they who have to take the final decision. (Language)
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