
BENGALURU: In an apparent attempt to mitigate the leadership crisis in the ruling Congress, AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Monday warned ministers of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ‘camp’ who had criticised the party high command.
Thanking the CM and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar for their report on the performance of ministers, Surjewala hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle after another round of appraisals. He was addressing the KPCC general body meeting as part of a preliminary meeting ahead of the party’s ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ rally to be held at Belagavi on January 21.
Both Surjewala and Shivakumar, KPCC president, issued instructions to the party’s rank and file, and reminded them that senior leader Sonia Gandhi had declined the offer to become prime minister.
Siddaramaiah said the credit of the party’s victory in the bypolls to Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna should not go to any individual but to the entire leadership, including ministers, and workers. Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara and Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna, who were planning to hold a separate meeting of SC/ST MLAs, and which Surjewala had put on hold, was absent.
“If ministers and MLAs do not toe the high command’s line, how can I reprimand the party’s workers for violating party discipline? The government exists because of the party. The party is like a mother and government is a child. It is not good if any leader feels he or she is above the party. I have requested multiple times not to issue any statements.
Discipline is the ‘mool mantra’ and without it, the party will not survive. The Congress is different from RSS and BJP, if anybody speaks against Modi, Shah and RSS, they are thrown out. But we in the Congress honestly introspect and go for a course correction,” he elaborated.
Surjewala said ministers will be appraised based on their contribution to the people of the state, the party and workers. He gave instructions that each minister should be called to the KPCC office and asked what he or she has done for the betterment of the people, propagating the party’s policies and helping workers. “Unless this exercise is taken up, party workers will continue to complain against ministers,” he remarked.
“The ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan Rally’ being held at Belgaum on 21st January will not only be a clarion call for protecting our Constitution, Democracy, Social Justice & Equality but it will be a clarion call to rise in unison against the ideology of BJP, espoused by Amit Shah, that disrespects Baba Saheb Ambedkar and the centrist idea of Social Justice as a guiding beacon for India (sic),” Surjewala posted on X.
100 Gandhi Congress Bhavans
Surjewala said AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will lay the foundation stone simultaneously for the construction of 100 Gandhi Congress Bhavans across the state on February 15, in Bengaluru.