ANDLE/GOKARNA (UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT): Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that he had never said that the CM will be changed. On the last day of the Belagavi winter session on Friday, Shivakumar took some time to visit the Gokarna Mahabaleshwara temple and Ganapathi temple in Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district. He also visited the Andle Jagadishwari temple in Ankola taluk.
Speaking to reporters in Gokarna, Shivakumar, who is also state Congress chief, said he never said Siddaramaiah will not complete his full five-year term as CM. “I never said that the party high command is not on his side. The high command is very much with him.
That’s why he’s CM now. We two have come to an agreement. The top brass forged the agreement. Both of us go as per the agreement. We never spoke about leadership change. It is the creation of the media,” Shivakumar said. He reached Gokarna at 8.30am and performed a puja at Mahabaleshwara temple. He also visited Maha Ganapathi temple before heading to Andle Jagadishwari temple, where he performed a closed-door puja.
According to sources, he reached the temple 4 hours late. “There was nobody in the temple except Shivakumar and his personal assistant. Even Minister Mankal Vaidya was sent out,” sources said. It is learnt that Shivakumar, when he was in Delhi’s Tihar jail, had prayed to the deity, which had predicted that he would become the KPCC chief.
According to popular belief, the presiding deity can predict the future when made certain offerings. Later, he offered puja to the tulasi plant on the temple premises.
Shivakumar dismissed political speculation around the dinner hosted by cabinet colleague Satish Jarkiholi on Thursday. “Can anyone say people should not sit together and eat? What is wrong if everyone sits together and dines?” Shivakumar countered when quizzed by mediapersons about Thursday’s gathering at Satish’s residence in Belagavi.
The dinner had sparked a buzz about change in leadership. Irked by reporters questioning him, the Deputy CM retorted, “Why should that concern me? Why are you asking me this question?” He urged the media not to find fault in leaders sharing a meal.