BENGALURU: Amidst the ongoing debate on the likely change of guard in the state and the demand for a Dalit Chief Minister, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said the Congress had elected Siddaramaiah as the CM for five years. There was no tenure limit for the Chief Minister when they elected the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in 2023, he said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Parameshwara said: “We elected Siddaramaiah as CM for five years. However, in between if the party high command decides to make changes, it is up to them,’’ the home minister said.
He said it is not good to give statements every day. “This has to be cleared and I shall appeal to the party high command regarding this,” he said.
Parameshwara said various Dalit organisations have been demanding for a Dalit CM. “Is there anything wrong with that? They express their opinion,” he said.
When pointed out Industry Minister MB Patil’s statement that Parameshwara and Satish Jarkiholi are capable of becoming the chief minister, Parameshwara said many leaders in the Congress are capable. “The Congress is like a training centre.
We train people from here and send them to different parties. We have many capable leaders and the party high command will decide whom to make the Chief Minister,” he said.
Parameshwara said that the high command had instructed them to postpone the proposed Dalit convention. “We had agreed for that in the interest of the party,” he said. He said the Dalit community will always stay with the Congress.
“If we are all to remain united, we need to hold conventions from time to time and inform the community about the schemes provided for the Dalit community by the government. We need to listen to the community and give them assurances for the future,” he added.
