KALABURAGI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has ruled out any reshuffle in the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Speaking to reporters at his residence here, Kharge said that the party would inform if there is a reshuffle or change of guard at the KPCC.
Kharge said these issues did not figure when chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar met him and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday. “Our discussions were on the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium and caste survey,” he said.
Kharge said the stampede has worried everybody, including the Congress. “It should not have happened. I, myself, and Rahul Gandhi have told the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to take all necessary steps in future to prevent such incidents. They briefed us about the incident and the steps taken aftermath including suspension of police officers, ordering magisterial inquiry and judicial inquiry and payment of compensation to the aggrieved,” he said.
Reacting to BJP’s demand for the resignation of the chief minister and the Deputy CM, owning moral responsibility for the stampede, Kharge questioned whether UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had resigned when the stampede took place during Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. “They expressed anger at me when I raised questions on the stampede at Kumbh Mela,” Kharge said.
Kharge said the caste survey was conducted 10 years ago. “Various community leaders have urged me and the government to conduct resurvey. We have advised the CM and DCM to conduct resurvey without rejecting the survey report given by Kantaraj Commission. Resurvey would be done to include those castes and sub-castes which were genuine to be included in the OBC but were not included in the previous survey,” said Kharge.
When reporters asked how many marks he would give for the performance of the Modi government, Kharge refused. He asked Modi to tell how many poll assurances he has fulfilled.
Kharge said Modi does not have faith in democratic process. When the UPA was in power, it used to accommodate opposition by giving Deputy Speaker’s post in the Lok Sabha. But the NDA government has kept the Deputy Speaker’s post vacant for 11 years.
When Kharge’s attention was drawn on the statement of Minister of State for Railways, Somanna, in the recent press conference at Kalaburagi that Kharge sanctioned Railway Division to Kalaburagi wrongly when he was the railway minister, he said let Somanna start commissioning of Railway Division at Kalaburagi and let him take the credit.
‘Stampede unfortunate’
Mallikarjun Kharge said the stampede has worried everybody, including Congress. “It should not have happened. I and Rahul Gandhi have told the CM and Deputy CM to take all necessary steps in future to prevent such incidents. They briefed us about the incident,” Kharge said.