BENGALURU: A day after the meeting between Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi created a buzz in political corridors, the latter on Tuesday said there is no question of change of guard in Karnataka. He said Siddaramaiah has the backing of the Congress high command in the MUDA case. “He (Siddaramaiah) has not been proven guilty. So, there is no question of replacing him. He will continue to be CM,” Satish added. He said BJP will fail in its attempts to topple the Siddaramaiah government. “If BJP creates problems to destabilise the government in Karnataka, similar problems might be created by the Centre in Telangana too... The governor there could send a notice to the CM there,” Satish claimed.
He said similar tactics may be used to dethrone CMs in Congress-ruled states. “That is why the party high command has taken a firm decision of backing Siddaramaiah. We will not allow our CM to step down,” he added. Satish said he met Shivakumar as the latter is the KPCC president.
“We discussed politics and party affairs. The meeting was on the appointment of Congress presidents to Chikkodi, Belgaum Rural, and Belgaum Urban Assembly constituencies. There are many irrigation projects in my constituency (Yamakanmardi), which were also discussed.” Hitting out at BJP, Satish said the party misuses power. “They are now targeting Siddaramaiah. There is a need to fight it legally and politically,” he added.