BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday stressed that nothing was permanent in politics, including the chief minister’s post. The CM was speaking after Bhatkal Congress MLA and former minister Mankal Subba Vaidya was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Shivakumar said the Deputy Speaker’s position should not be viewed as a demotion, pointing out that former deputy speaker Rudrappa Lamani had subsequently become a minister. “Do not feel upset about getting the deputy speaker’s position. S M Krishna and Jagadish Shettar, who sat in this seat, went on to become chief ministers.
Therefore, nothing is permanent in politics,” he said. “There was a convention of offering the Deputy Speaker’s post to the opposition party. However, that position is still left vacant in the Lok Sabha. We thought about this as well. But due to heavy pressure, the responsibility was given to Mankal Vaidya. His name was initially on the list for a ministerial post. I apologised, personally requested him and asked him to accept the position of deputy speaker.”
As the CM was delivering the speech, BJP legislators interrupted him with sarcastic remarks over his conciliatory tone. MLA Sunil Kumar said Shivakumar appeared to be taking on the role of a “Vedanta philosopher” and suggested that he should hand over the chief minister’s post to Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and become a philosopher. “Why not he (Parameshwara) as he is a senior leader and fits the bill,” Shivakumar responded.
BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra and senior leader Araga Jnanendra remarked that Shivakumar appeared to have changed considerably after becoming CM.
SLOGANS BY BJP HURT MY FEELINGS: CM
“I am very disappointed with Ashwath Narayan, Vijayendra, and their team. I asked them to sit for two or three days and listen to what I had to say. Yet, as soon as they entered the House, they shouted slogans of condemnation and deeply wounded my feelings,” Shivakumar said. He was referring to the issue of opposition staging protests demanding the resignation of inister N Nagendra.
NO VENDETTA POLITICS, SAYS SHIVAKUMAR
Shivakumar suggested that the ruling and Opposition benches work together for Karnataka’s development.”I will not indulge in vendetta politics,” Shivakumar said, adding that he was prepared to forget criticism directed at him and work with all legislators. He said he was not merely the chief minister of the 135 Congress MLAs but of every legislator in the House and appealed members to work together as ‘Team Karnataka’.
