I am ‘targeted’, but won’t be a ‘coward’, says CM, setting off more speculation

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s social media post, in which he claimed that he was being “targeted” for reasons of his caste and social background, has stirred a hornet’s nest, coming amid the ongoing leadership tussle between him and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar.

Opposition leaders on Saturday demanded that Mr. Siddaramaiah spell out who exactly was “targeting” him, while Mr. Shivakumar, who has been strongly pitching to be elevated to the Chief Minister’s post, refused to comment and said that he was unaware of what was said and in what context.

No bed of roses

The Chief Minister, in his post, had said, “My four decades of political life have never been a bed of roses. It has always been a path riddled with stones and thorns. Many big leaders have carried out numerous cunning conspiracies to politically finish me. With the blessings of the people, I have overcome all of them”. What he posted on X was excerpts from an article he wrote in a Kannada newspaper on Social Justice Day on Friday.

In the post, the Chief Minister alleged that efforts were on to undermine not just him, but also people who support his brand of politics. “I know very well that this is not a conspiracy against me alone – it is a conspiracy against you, the people who believe in me. That is why, as long as I breathe, I will fight against this political conspiracy and against the politics of hatred and jealousy. This is a struggle for truth, justice, and righteousness. With your support, I will carry forward this fight. I will never be a coward who runs away from the battlefield,” he further said in the post.

Shepherd’s rise

Making a more pointed reference to his caste, Kuruba (OBC), he said, “The fact that a shepherd [Kuruba] has become the Chief Minister, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with economic experts and presented several Budgets, is the reason why the eyes of people from privileged classes have turned red. They believe that their path will be made smooth if they finish me off”.

BJP leaders, including C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, questioned the timing of the outburst and asked the Chief Minister to spell out who he was really pointing at. Nr. Narayanaswamy said that if Dalit leaders in the party, like AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, made such a statement, it would be more amenable to reason than a leader like Mr. Siddaramaiah who has enjoyed power in two terms.

‘All about power’

JD(S) leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that social justice was “just an excuse”, while the real intent behind Mr. Siddaramaiah’s statement was the “desperate attempt to cling to power”.

Speaking in Shivamogga, former Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, also a Kuruba, said, “The Chief Minister should specify whose path would be clear if he were finished politically. Why did he bring up caste in his statements? Who are those hatching conspiracies against him? If he does not answer these questions, he will be considered a coward”.