Will remain CM till high command wishes: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday reiterated that he will remain as the chief minister as long as the Congress high command wants him to continue.

He also said that his party has got a mandate for five years to rule and will also come back to power after 2028 assembly elections.

"I am saying this very clearly. We have high command. We abide by their decision. Whatever high command says is ultimate," Siddaramaiah told the Assembly.

The leadership issue popped up in the Assembly during the question hour.

Congress MLA from Kunigal, H D Ranganath, alleged that the farmers in his constituency were not getting short-term loan from the District Central Cooperative Bank (DCC Bank) whereas farmers from neighbouring Madhugiri constituency got short term loans worth Rs 100 crore.

Ranganath, who is loyal to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and wants to see him as the next CM, alleged that the farmers of his constituency are being discriminated against.

K N Rajanna, who is considered to be a Siddaramaiah loyalist, represents the Madhugiri segment.

Replying to Ranganath, Siddaramaiah assured him that if there was any discrimination then he would rectify it.

"Hope Ranganath trusts me," the CM said.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, quipped that the discrimination appeared to be intentional.

The CM retorted, "Don't add fuel to the fire. Opposition is meant for adding fuel."

Ashoka replied, "It means there is fire. Ranganath is performing poojas to see that D K Shivakumar becomes CM."

Ashoka also said it does not matter if the Opposition is adding fuel, but the concerning matter is that the ruling Congress MLAs are involved in creating unrest.

Siddaramaiah reprimanded Ashoka, saying that he should keep quiet when the ruling MLAs are silent.

Ashoka said, "They are not quiet sir. They are doing poojas every day. They want to see Shivakumar as CM. I am reading it in the newspapers every day."

To this Siddaramaiah said, "Even if you try to instigate, no one from our side will react… All 140 MLAs are standing in unison."

The Leader of Opposition then sought to know whether he would remain CM for full five years.

In reply, Siddaramaiah said, "Why are you asking me this question. People have given us a mandate to rule for five years."

The chief minister said, "The voters of Karnataka have blessed us to complete a five-year term. We were blessed by people twice -- in 2013 and 2018 assembly polls, whereas the BJP never got a public mandate and they will not be blessed by the voters in future to hold power single-handedly. They will remain in the opposition forever."

BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar pointed out that, "Siddaramaiah had been saying 'I will remain as chief minister for five years’, but now he is saying ‘we will rule for five years’. There is a shift from the singular term 'I' to the plural term 'we'."

To this, the chief minister said, "We are running the government. It was always plural (collective). It was never an individual affair. I am the CM till now and will remain in the post till the high command wishes."

The power tussle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar refuses to die down though the two leaders tried to clear the air through their 'breakfast diplomacy'.