BENGALURU: As the leadership tussle in the state Congress heats up, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Sunday said he will always be in the race for the chief minister’s post. “I was KPCC president in 2013 and during my tenure, Congress won and came to power.
But I did not say that it was because me that we came to power. It was a collective effort. I lost the election. If I had won that time, we dont know what would have happened. Sometimes, they give a chance to the KPCC president, but sometimes, they dont,’’ he told reporters here.
Parameshwara said Dalit leaders have been demanding for a long time that a Dalit should become CM. “Will this happen if we all sit together for a meal? We are all like-minded people. We fought for internal reservation. Shouldn’t we discuss our issues?” he said.
Asked if he might be considered if there is a change in the CM, he said, “Let that situation come. It has not come yet. I will not go and meet the AICC president (Mallikarjuna Kharge) on my own. I will meet him whenever necessary.”
Speaking on CM Siddaramaiah meeting Kharge, he said, “There is no problem, either in the party or in the government. Why do you make news out of (the CM) visiting someone’s house?” he hit back at the media.
Regarding the selection of the CM, he said, “Observers from the AICC came during the CM’s selection. Everything happened in front of them in the Congress Legislative Party meeting.
Siddaramaiah never said he would be CM for only two-and-a-half years. Whether there will be a change midway is left to the high command. Can we ourselves bring about a change? If such a situation arises, the high command will decid.”