BENGALURU: Playing down the power tussle in the Congress government in Karnataka, AICC General Secretary and former Rajasthan DCM Sachin Pilot on Monday said that both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who were working like brothers, will abide by the party high command’s decision as bringing the party back to power in 2028 is paramount.
“Tell me which leader of the party, whether it is the chief minister or Pradesh Congress Committee president, has said they will not abide by the party high command’s decision. The decision is acceptable to every Congress worker in the state. We are working to make sure that we deliver on our promises and win the state again in 2028 with a still greater majority,” he told reporters at the KPCC office here.
“When Shivakumar called CM Siddaramaiah his elder brother, and Siddaramaiah says he (Shivakumar) is my younger brother, that settles the matter,” he said. “When everything is left to the Congress high command, the party will decide whatever it has to. Our collective objective is to strengthen the Congress across the country, including Karnataka.”
“Let me tell you that the Karnataka government has functioned with full integrity and dedication. Whatever promises we made as a party before polls, we are fulfilling all of them. We are working strongly, and I can assure you that in 2028, the Congress party will come back with a thumping majority,” he said.
Pilot ignored the query by a reporter that a parallel had been drawn between him, as he had missed the CM’s post held by senior leader Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, and Shivakumar who is aspiring for the same post in Karnataka.
PREVAIL UPON SC TO REVIEW DECISION ON ARAVALLI: PILOT TO CENTRE
AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot urged the Centre to prev-ail upon the Supreme Court to review its decision to exclude the hills below 100 m from the legal definition of Aravalli range. “We will have to urge Supreme Court to reconsider its decision because Gujarat, Raja-sthan, Haryana and Delhi are ruled by BJP.
NDA government at the Centre is also led by BJP. When there are four engines working together, they should urge the court to provide protection and ensure that desertification stops, pollution stops, and our biodiversity is protected,” he said addressing reporters here. Pilot said, “Our entire ecology will be distu-rbed.
Aravalli range provides protection to the entire NCR. If we allow illegal mining to continue, what will we leave behind for our future gener-ations?” He said that he will join a protest march in Jaipur on December 26 to be organis-ed by NSUI and the Congress to protect the Aravalli range. “The government has been compl-etely exposed on the Aravalli issue.
The direction in which it is moving makes it clear that it has no responsibility to protect our mountain ranges. If we allow destruction of the Aravalli range, who will be held accountable?... The government is going to court and accepting things that lead to the end of the Aravalli range. We oppose that,” he said.