MYSURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is set to surpass the record for the longest tenure as Chief Minister held by the late Devaraj Urs on Wednesday, said that the milestone was possible only due to the blessings of the people.
Urs had served as Chief Minister of the state for seven years and 239 days. Siddaramaiah would complete seven years and 240 days on Wednesday, surpassing Urs.
Responding to media queries at Mysuru Airport on Monday, Siddaramaiah said it was a matter of happiness that Urs also hailed from Mysuru.
“After becoming a taluk board member, I never imagined that my political journey would take me to the positions of minister and Chief Minister. I have contested 13 elections and won more than eight times,” he said.
Describing Urs as a popular and towering leader from the less-populated Urs community, Siddaramaiah said comparisons between them were inappropriate. “The political situation during Urs’s tenure was entirely different. He was elected unanimously in one election. Records are meant to be broken. In the future, another leader may surpass the tenure I am currently serving, and someone else may present the Budget more times than I have,” he said. He added that no decision had yet been taken regarding the organisation of a Sadhana Samavesha.
Reacting to questions on a possible Cabinet reshuffle, he said that a decision would be taken after consultations with the party leaders. “Budget preparations will begin after Sankranti. The Cabinet reshuffle will be discussed with the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. I will take it up if time permits,” he said.
Replying to a query on whether the investigation into the incident in Ballari, in which a Congress worker was killed during a clash, would be handed over to the CID, the CM said he would discuss the matter with Home Minister. “The truth will emerge after the police investigation,” he added.
To questions on central measures such as GST and the implementation of schemes like VB-G Ram G, Siddaramaiah said the state was losing Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 crore annually due to GST, calling it an injustice by the Centre. He also said that during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tenure, the Centre provided full funding for MGNREGA, but now the scheme has been curtailed.
“This will reduce the number of working days for labourers, small farmers, women, Dalits, backward classes, minorities and the poor, thereby taking away their basic rights. This is unconstitutional. As per the Act, the Centre and the state must share costs in a 60:40 ratio, which will impose an additional burden of about Rs 3,000 crore on the state government,” he said.
On the sighting of a tiger near Mysuru airport, the Chief Minister said a meeting with the Forest Department has been scheduled for Tuesday. “The tiger population in the state has increased significantly, and animals are straying from forest areas into human habitations. Officials have been instructed to take steps to capture the tiger and relocate it to another forest area,” he said.
D Devaraj Urs - 7 years, 239 days (1972-77 and 1978-79).
Siddaramaiah - 2013-2018 and from May 20, 2023 till date. DCM twice -- 1996-1999 and 2004-2005, LOP twice -- from 2009-2013 and 2019-2023. Has won 9 Assembly elections, lost four, and lost two Lok Sabha polls.
Controversies: Siddaramaiah was embroiled in a controversy after he took an expensive Hublot watch as a gift from an entrepreneur. But he could overcome it. During his first tenure as CM, he faced the controversy over denotification of Arkavathy layout, while in his present term, it was the MUDA scam.